So, a solid start for United on their return to the Champions League. They were comfortable winners but they didn’t need to be spectacular against stodgy opponents.

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90 min: Elyounoussi has been Basel’s best attacking player - he rams his shot wide but he’s been a positive presence for the visitors.

88 min: Corner for United. Clearance for Basel.

86 min: If we’re being generous, Mkhitaryan’s miss on that cross may have been a stepover. Maaaaaybe.

Fellaini turns provider. His cross is missed by Mkhitaryan but finds its way to Rashford, whose shot bounces off the turf and past the keeper. He has a knack of being in the right place at the right time.

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82 min: Fellaini gets back nicely to intercept a Basel attack and usher the ball to De Gea.

79 min: Rashford dashes at the Basel defence and wins a free-kick. His prize is a shot at glory from 35 yards out.

It does not end in glory.

77 min: Rashford is on for Mata, presumably to stretch some tired Basel legs on the heavy Old Trafford turf. For Basel, Oberlin replaces Riveros.

75 min: Free-kick for United after the excellent Young is clattered to the ground. It’s straight at the keeper though.

73 min: United put on a little show with assorted flicks, and a backheel from Fellaini - he’s not all about headers.

70 min: Lingard comes on for Martial.

69 min: Young nearly has a goal to go with his assist. He twists and turns on the edge of his area, and hit shot skims off the surface. Vaclik does well to claw the ball past the post.

67 min: Bua on for Van Wolfswinkel. Bua is more of an attacking midfielder. Are Basel playing for the 2-0?

65 min: Great save from De Gea! Elyounoussi spins around and unleashes a shot from a sharp angle, which the keeper saves from close range with one hand. Brilliant stuff, considering he’s had little to do all night. Elyounoussi’s turn wasn’t too bad either.

62 min: De Gea’s languid clearance floats to a Basel player but United and we have a counter-attack. Until Lang hacks down Martial. That brings up a booking - there have been quite a few yellows for a game that hasn’t been particularly bad tempered. Lukaku forces Vaclik into a good save from the resulting free-kick.

58 min: Elyounoussi has a nice run and shot for Basel, who are going at United a little more now. Blind then gets a yellow for a stupid lunge on Steffen. He does make up for it by heading the resulting free-kick clear.

55 min: Tim Daly emails in all excited about the world of words. “I popped over to see who was playing for Basel and was delighted to see the word Ersatzbank on the team sheet graphic. What a great name for a substitutes bench! (Erstaz definition - not real or genuine; typically inferior; used because the other thing is too expensive).”

If you came to watch towering headers from Belgians tonight, you have your money’s worth. A corner is delivered pretty much on to Lukaku’s forehead - it’s a splendid forehead too – and the ball rockets into the back of the net. That, ladies and gentlemen, may be that.

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51 min: Basel seem a little subdued, like they’ve already conceded defeat. I’m not sure why - United were competent in the first half but not exactly worldbeaters.

49 min: Mata, who has been quiet so far, chases down a long ball but it goes out for a goal kick. Van Wolfswinkel is the beneficiary of a lovely ball into his feet but can’t get a shot away.

46 min: And we’re back. And the rain continues to fall.

Solid, unspectacular stuff from United. Which is exactly what Mourinho would want as they play themselves back into the Champions League after their time away. A nice, safe three points will do them nicely. The only major negative has been Pogba’s injury.

45 min: On the TV commentary, Jonathan Pearce gets excited about a “racist backpass” which I soon realise is a “racy backpass”, which doesn’t make sense either. But they’re both interesting images.

44 min: Lukaku has easily been United’s best tackler today. A crunching challenge wins the ball on the edge of the Basel area but United can’t exploit the opening. Play this guy up at centre-half (don’t play this guy at centre-half).

43 min: Lovely ball in to Fellaini from Mkhitaryan, who skims the ball to his team-mate’s feet from 30 yards out. Fellaini can’t control it though and Basel clear.

40 min: Basel win possession deep in the United half but the shot is deflected and Young is there to clear.

38 min: Young follows up his assist with a yellow card for sliding in with a rash challenge. The wet pitch may have made it look worst that it was, but it’s an understandable booking. Basel’s free kick ends with a header straight at De Gea.

Young floats in a lovely cross and Fellaini heads home. It was a firm, powerful header that we’d expect from the Belgian but the marking - from a team set up to defend and win an away point - was a little suspect. It’s not like Fellaini being good at heading is some national secret. Still, nice work from Young on his return - he’s been good today.

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34 min: It’s tipping down at Old Trafford now and Raphaël Wicky, the Basel manager, is getting his nice suit wet. Zuffi arguably has the best chance of the game - shooting horribly wide when completely unmarked around nine yards out.

31 min: “This game has been a siege,” says Cedric Snow. “How much of that is down to: 1) Basel are set up to defend, which is a sensible approach to an away fixture. 2) Basel are comparatively crap and Man U should be dominating.” Well, Basel do seem happy to sit back and play for the thrilling 0-0 draw. But United haven’t been crafty enough to break them down - most of the success they have had is when Lukaku muscles someone off the ball.

29 min: Balanta wins the ball but it’s a strong challenge. But he did technically win the ball. But he did nearly break Mkhitaryan’s ankle. There’s no black and white in this world, only shades of grey. And yellow for Balanta, who is booked.

27 min: Basel have a little attack. And why not? It’s not every day you play at Old Trafford. They win a corner too, and are kind enough to clear it for United. Good guests. “It has already been established that De Gea does his own shopping,” says JR in Illinois. “At least for donuts. Although I guess it’s not technically ‘shopping’ if you just take stuff without paying for it.” I know, any self-respecting millionaire would employ their own shoplifter [LEGAL NOTE: DE GEA IS NOT A SHOPLIFTER].

24 min: “Are you intentionally posting every three minutes apart?” asks Patrick Wright. Am I?

22 min: Plenty of possession, and some possession, from United but they haven’t made the keeper work. And just as I saw that Mkhitaryan hits the post and then the keeper with the rebound. He probably should have scored.

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19 min: Uh oh. Pogba, is limping about, holding the back of his thigh. He’s now sat down on the pitch, and it looks like he’s done for the evening. Replays show him wincing as he stretched for a tackle. Fellaini will be the man to come on. Pogba, understandably, looks upset (at his injury, not at Fellaini coming on as a sub).

16 min: First shot on target. Lukaku starts and ends the move. He wins the ball off a dawdling defender then spreads play. Once he’s received a pass, he dances around the edge of the area but his shot is straight at Vaclik. Fine effort from the Belgian though.

13 min: De Gea has a long time to think about his weekly shop - the ball has rarely drifted into the United half so far. Then he realises he doesn’t need to do a weekly shop - he’s incredibly rich and can pay someone to do it for him. Mkhitaryan heads over the bar.

10 min: Riveros stages Basel’s first attack but is closely tracked by Lindelof, who concedes the corner. When United clear, Pogba sweeps down the right - United have been attacking down that flank a lot so far – but he loses the ball. After that, United sit back and have a wee rest in midfield, stroking the ball around prettily.

7 min: Young again - he shows nice control to bring down a ball on the wing but the attack breaks down. United have been positive so far though, and look peppy on their return to the Champions League.

4 min: Ashley Young keeps up the pressure for United when he wins a corner. It comes out to him too - on the edge of the area - but he can’t keep the ball down and his shot flops wide.

1 min: And we’re off as United return to the Champions League. Lukaku wins an early corner when his cross cannons off a defender. He then shakes loose in the area and his shot ... cannons off a defender. A lot of cannons.

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Mourinho has been chatting to BT Sport about his selection in defence, notably the choice of Smalling and Lindelof together: “They work together every day since the moment we know they would be the obvious choice for this match .... The understanding is good. They have Champions League experience and I trust them.” He also says Ashley Young is in the team as Valencia is not fully match fit (AND BECAUSE HE’S A GREAT PLAYER).

At this point, we are legally obliged to acknowledge that Ricky Van Wolfswinkel, playing up front for Basel, has a funny name. He also has seven goals in seven games in the Swiss League this season, with the caveat that it’s the Swiss League. Basel are third in the league this season, with the caveat that it’s the Swiss League.

Basel, it should be noted, have never lost at Old Trafford. Even so, this seems a little excessive:

Tonight’s teams, starring your captain for the evening Mr Paul Pogba:

If you prefer your teams non-tweet based then they’re here:

Man Utd: De Gea, Young, Lindelof, Smalling, Blind, Pogba, Matic, Mata, Mkhitaryan, Martial, Lukaku. Subs: Romero, Lingard, Carrick, Rashford, Valencia, Fellaini, Darmian.

Basel: Vaclik, Akanji, Suchy, Balanta, Lang, Xhaka, Zuffi, Riveros, Steffen, van Wolfswinkel, Elyounoussi. Subs: Salvi, Gaber, Fransson, Oberlin, Schmid, Bua, Calla.

Referee: Ruddy Buquet (France)

Tom will be here shortly, in the meantime here’s José Mourinho on why he’s happy to be back in the Champions League:

José Mourinho feels Manchester United will be back in their “natural habitat” when they return to Champions League combat for the first time in 644 days against Basel at Old Trafford on Tuesday night.

“To be in the Champions League is just to go back to the natural habitat, season after season, for Manchester United,” the manager said. “I look forward to tomorrow and hope Old Trafford feels it in the same way we feel it. Our motivation’s high. We’ll try to qualify and enjoy that special knockout phase with the best teams in Europe.”

Although last season was only the second campaign in 22 years in which United had been absent from the competition, Mourinho was not about to dismiss the Europa League, which his team won. “I enjoyed it,” he said.

“In the Champions League there are four or five teams with an incredible level of quality, of experience, of know-how and that’s what makes the difference. But there are many other teams in the Champions League with very similar qualities to teams in the Europa League.”