Manchester United survived a scare against Danish minnows Midtjylland in their round of 16 Europa League second leg to claim a come-from-behind 5-1 win.
The Red Devils overturned their 2-1 deficit after the first leg to book their place in the next phase of the competition.
Midtjylland took a shock lead on 27 minutes when Pione Sisto manipulated the ball past some lacklustre United defenders and scored with a low drive to far right post.
The goal brought the home side to life, although they were fortunate to find an equaliser five minutes later through a horrid own goal from Nikolay Bodurov.
It was the slice of luck United needed and minutes before half-time they should have levelled the tie aggregate, only for Juan Mata’s penalty terrifically thwarted by Mikkel Andersen.
In the second half United piled on the pressure and they got a deserved breakthrough on 63 minutes through 18-year-old debutant Marcus Rashford.
The teenager rounded off Mata’s superb square pass with a clinical finish and then repeated the dosage with a tap-in to cap off a surreal night for Old Trafford’s latest hero.
Kian Hansen handled a goal-bound Memphis Depay shot in the box and from the resulting penalty Ander Herrera dispatched the ball with aplomb.
Depay provided the icing on the cake with a rasping drive from 20 yards in the 90th minute, as United ended a potential night of despair on a high.
Here are some of the best reactions from Twitter:
Ladies and Gentlemen,
MARCUS RASHFORD #MUFC pic.twitter.com/XjzOTIo0tu
— Fergie’s Fledglings (@RedDevilTimes) February 25, 2016
Massive statement from @Memphis tonight. Kid has been disgracefully good. #mufc
— Serge Adam (@SergeMUFC) February 25, 2016
Way too easy for #Memphis tonight. Now it’s time for him to produce in league play #mufc
— Daniel Kobin (@danielkobin) February 25, 2016
Memphis has ruined these defenders’ lives, they’ll never sleep again #mufc
— All For United (@allforunited) February 25, 2016
Job DONE! Well done EVERYBODY!
Those kids did LVG & us proud tonight!
Truly fantastic to watch!
Future is VERY bright!#mufc #Rashford— Billy Meredith (@UrmstonLordMUFC) February 25, 2016
BOOM! Somebody called Rashford just saved van Gaal’s job until Sunday at least. Thanks mate! #mufc
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) February 25, 2016
Memphis Depay: Has scored 2 goals in his last 3 appearances having managed 1 in his previous 20 #MUFC
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) February 25, 2016
⚽️ @AnderHerrera making no mistake with that penalty!#MUFC 4 – 1 #FCMidtjylland pic.twitter.com/oTznNimBlb
— UNITED (@442weets) February 25, 2016
Significant wobble in the first half, but a 5 star response. Very happy!!#MUFC
— Philip Passey (@PhilPassey99) February 25, 2016
Goals breed confidence, winning breeds confidence. It doesn’t matter who it’s against, it’s still nice to win games & see goals. #mufc
— Jack Boorman (@UnitedHeaven_) February 25, 2016
Memphis has been working a lot with Giggs over the last couple of weeks. Has really shown tonight. Deserves to start against Arsenal #Mufc
— Manchester United (@MUFC_today) February 25, 2016
This is the first time United have scored 5 goals since we beat Leverkusen 0-5 in 2013/14 season #mufc #longtimecoming
— Quality MUFC Videos (@aditya_reds) February 25, 2016
This performance is making me….horny!? #mufc
— Benno (@Benno_LUHG) February 25, 2016
It’s only taken the youngsters to bring some tempo and excitement to this team!! #MUFC
— Everything Man Utd (@everything_utd) February 25, 2016
Thoroughly enjoyed that tonight albeit against poor opposition. Great to see the youngsters getting their chance and taking it! ?? #mufc
— Richard Williams (@rgw1987) February 25, 2016
Well it might have just been ‘minnows’, but I fairly enjoyed that. Young players looked hungry, with some nice touches #MUFC
— Iain Williams (@IainWilliams1) February 25, 2016
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