Europa League
Man UtdManchester United4FeyenoordFeyenoord0

Manchester United 4-0 Feyenoord

By Emlyn BegleyBBC Sport
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney is one goal from matching Sir Bobby Charlton's Manchester United scoring record

Wayne Rooney became Manchester United's record European goalscorer as they beat Feyenoord to keep their Europa League fate in their hands.

The Red Devils captain scored his 39th European goal for the club when he clipped the ball over Brad Jones from Zlatan Ibrahimovic's perfect through ball - with Feyenoord appealing unsuccessfully for offside.

Rooney then set up Juan Mata to slide home the second.

The win was secured when former Liverpool keeper Jones deflected Ibrahimovic's cross into his own net, and Jesse Lingard curled in a fourth in injury time to make it Jose Mourinho's biggest win as United boss.

A draw or win at Zorya Luhansk in the final Group A game on Thursday, 8 December would take United into the last 32.

Group A
Manchester United only need a point to progress

Mkhitaryan takes rare chance to impress

United's £26m summer signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan was impressive on only his second start for the club.

Mourinho has said the former Borussia Dortmund midfielder, who had previously managed only 134 minutes for United, needs time to adapt to the "intensity and aggression" of the English game.

Admittedly against weaker opposition, he looked the part with an all-action performance playing centrally behind Ibrahimovic.

He linked up well with team-mates, and would have got on the end of a through ball from Rooney had the England captain not overhit it, after a slick one-touch passing move between the pair.

One of the game's outstanding moments came when Mkhitaryan ran from his own half, taking on several Feyenoord defenders, before going down under pressure from Jens Toornstra. The Dutch champions were fortunate the referee did not give a free-kick, which would also have resulted in a red card.

The 27-year-old had six shots, including blocked efforts, and came off, alongside Rooney, to a standing ovation after 82 minutes.

"It was a pleasure to play again. It's been very difficult watching the team from the side but you have to have passion and work hard to try and take your next chance," he said. When asked if it was a new start, he said: "I hope so."

The big question now is will the Armenian start against West Ham in the Premier League on Sunday?

Rooney closes in on Charlton record

Juan Mata and Wayne Rooney
Juan Mata, who scored United's second, also went close with a brilliant swivel and chip which was tipped over the bar

Rooney, recalled in one of six changes from Saturday's 1-1 draw with Arsenal, had said he was "not finished yet" after criticism of his late night at a wedding on international duty.

He showed that with a goal to move within one of matching Sir Bobby Charlton's club-record 249 goals, as well as beating Ruud van Nistelrooy's European record.

He was economical with his shooting - his only effort the goal, a calm finish over the keeper after timing his run well.

But he had a big hand in United's second goal too, his reverse pass for Mata taking the Feyenoord defence out of the equation and giving the Spaniard an easy finish.

Mkhitaryan more than doubles shots tally - stats

  • This was Feyenoord's joint heaviest Uefa Cup/Europa League defeat. They lost 5-1 to Borussia Monchengladbach in 1986.
  • Henrik Mkhitaryan had a game-high six shots, two more than he had managed in his United career before this game.
  • Juan Mata has scored in consecutive games for United for the first time since September 2015.
  • United had 12 shots on target against Feyenoord, their most in a game in any competition this season.
  • That total is the joint-most by a team in a Europa League game this season.
  • Feyenoord have won just once of their past seven visits to England in European competition (D2 L4).
  • United are unbeaten in their past 14 European games at Old Trafford (including qualifiers), winning all three group-stage games this season.

Man of the match - Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Henrikh Mkhitaryan did not show any rustiness despite having played only once for his club since 10 September. He had six shots, made 55 passes (accuracy 85.5%) and won the ball back eight times

'Just enjoy a few more years of Rooney's career'

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho: "It was a similar performance to others we have had at home. We were dominant from the first moment, we created chances but this time we scored goals.

"People like him [Rooney] don't need to answer any more, just enjoy a few more years of his career and playing the best he can. That's what he tries to do. More important is the fact we need one point to qualify."

Feyenoord coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst: "Four-nil is a big defeat. We could cope with Manchester United for 70 minutes, but after 70 minutes you could see the difference in quality."

What's next?

Manchester United host West Ham in their next two games - in the Premier League on Sunday (16:30 GMT), and the EFL Cup quarter-final on Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

Line-ups

Man Utd

Formation 4-2-3-1

  • 20Romero
  • 25A Valencia
  • 4Jones
  • 17Blind
  • 23Shaw
  • 16Carrick
  • 6Pogba
  • 8MataSubstituted forRashfordat 70'minutes
  • 10RooneySubstituted forDepayat 82'minutes
  • 22MkhitaryanSubstituted forLingardat 82'minutes
  • 9Ibrahimovic

Substitutes

  • 1de Gea
  • 5Rojo
  • 7Depay
  • 14Lingard
  • 19Rashford
  • 21Herrera
  • 27Fellaini

Feyenoord

Formation 4-3-3

  • 25Jones
  • 2Karsdorp
  • 31Dammers
  • 6van der Heijden
  • 18Nelom
  • 20Tapia
  • 7KuytSubstituted forBerghuisat 61'minutes
  • 10Vilhena
  • 28ToornstraSubstituted forBasacikogluat 78'minutes
  • 9N JørgensenSubstituted forKramerat 73'minutes
  • 11Elia

Substitutes

  • 5Vejinovic
  • 14Basacikoglu
  • 15Woudenberg
  • 19Berghuis
  • 26Nieuwkoop
  • 29Kramer
  • 30Hansson
Referee:
Manuel Gräfe
Attendance:
64,628

Match Stats

Home TeamMan UtdAway TeamFeyenoord
Possession
Home59%
Away41%
Shots
Home22
Away5
Shots on Target
Home12
Away3
Corners
Home6
Away1
Fouls
Home5
Away5

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Manchester United 4, Feyenoord 0.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Manchester United 4, Feyenoord 0.

  3. Goal!

    Goal! Manchester United 4, Feyenoord 0. Jesse Lingard (Manchester United) left footed shot from outside the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Antonio Valencia.

  4. Post update

    Offside, Manchester United. Antonio Valencia tries a through ball, but Jesse Lingard is caught offside.

  5. Post update

    Dangerous play by Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United).

  6. Post update

    Tonny Vilhena (Feyenoord) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  7. Post update

    Attempt saved. Jesse Lingard (Manchester United) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by Marcus Rashford.

  8. Post update

    Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Bilal Basacikoglu.

  9. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Memphis Depay.

  10. Post update

    Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Brad Jones.

  11. Post update

    Attempt saved. Jesse Lingard (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Marcus Rashford.

  12. Post update

    Attempt saved. Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

  13. Substitution

    Substitution, Manchester United. Jesse Lingard replaces Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

  14. Substitution

    Substitution, Manchester United. Memphis Depay replaces Wayne Rooney.

  15. Post update

    Foul by Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Manchester United).

  16. Post update

    Eljero Elia (Feyenoord) wins a free kick on the left wing.

  17. Substitution

    Substitution, Feyenoord. Bilal Basacikoglu replaces Jens Toornstra.

  18. Post update

    Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Jan-Arie van der Heijden.

  19. Goal!

    Own Goal by Brad Jones, Feyenoord. Manchester United 3, Feyenoord 0.

  20. Substitution

    Substitution, Feyenoord. Michiel Kramer replaces Nicolai Jørgensen.

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Scores, Results & Fixtures

Thursday 24th November 2016

As It Stood

A

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Fenerbahçe531176110
2Man Utd530210469
3Feyenoord521236-37
4Zorya Luhansk502326-42

B

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Apoel Nicosia53026609
2Olympiakos52217438
3BSC Young Boys51224405
4FC Astana512258-35

C

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Anderlecht5320145911
2Saint-Étienne52305329
3Mainz5131610-46
4FK Qabala5005512-70

D

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Zenit St Petersburg55001551015
2AZ Alkmaar512238-55
3Dundalk511346-24
4Maccabi Tel-Aviv511358-34

E

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Roma5320167911
2Astra Giurgiu5212710-37
3Austria Vienna5122911-25
4Viktoria Plzen503248-43

F

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1KRC Genk530211929
2Ath Bilbao5302910-19
3Rapid Vienna512267-15
4Sassuolo51229905

G

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Ajax5410105513
2Standard Liege51317526
3Celta Vigo51318716
4Panathinaikos5014311-81

H

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Shakhtar Donetsk55001731415
2Sporting Braga51317706
3KAA Gent5122813-55
4Konyaspor5014211-91

I

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Schalke550091815
2FK Krasnodar52127617
3RB Salzburg511346-24
4Nice5104310-73

J

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Fiorentina5311135810
2FK Qarabag5212610-47
3PAOK Salonika521256-17
4Slovan Liberec5113710-34

K

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Sparta Prague540174312
2Southampton52125327
3Hapoel Be'er Sheva52125507
4Inter Milan5104510-53

L

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Osmanlispor52128717
2Villarreal51317706
3FCSB513145-16
4FC Zürich51315506
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