Depay at the double as Manchester United ease to a 3-1 Champions League playoff win
New signing nets twice against Belgian side Club Brugge; Lazio take 1-0 lead over Bayen Leverkusen
I am very happy for Memphis because a player needs that. I said it was a matter of time and hopefully he shall continue
While United – who missed out on Champions League action last year – will take a comfortable looking two-goal lead to Belgium, Sporting Lisbon will have a slender one-goal advantage to bring with them to Moscow, although their 2-1 win over CSKA ended the Russian side’s nine-game unbeaten streak in Champions League qualifying games.
United were hit by an early setback with an own goal by Michael Carrick, who beat Sergio Romero – preferred once again to David de Gea – to put the visitors 1-0 ahead.
However, they drew level on the quarter-hour mark thanks to a sublime piece of individual skill from Depay, who lofted the ball over a Brugge defender, ran on to the ball and fired it into the net.
The Dutch star – a £25 million (HK$303.6 million) signing from PSV Eindhoven in the close season – bettered that shortly before half-time, cutting in from the left and curling a superb effort past Sebastien Bruzzese.
United huffed and puffed to get what could be a crucial third goal and finally managed it in the dying seconds, after Brugge had been reduced to 10 men, as Marouane Fellaini, who played under Brugge coach Michel Preud’homme at Standard Liege from 2006-08, scored.
