Wigan 0 United 4

van der Sar to beat. The Dutchman, in his 250th United appearance, stayed big to block Moses’ effort with his shoulder and keep the match goalless.

It didn’t stay that way for long, though. Two minutes later, Hernandez put the Reds ahead with a clever finish from close range after Nani fired a low ball into the six-yard box. The temptation must have been to hit the ball hard but the young Mexican, who’s scored in each of United’s four away wins this term, chose instead to deftly flick the ball over Ali Al-Habsi in the Wigan goal.

It was a terrific finish, albeit against the run of play, and United were again indebted to van der Sar when, within a minute of the restart, he dashed off his line and smothered James McCarthy’s effort.

On a patchy pitch, against the league’s 18th-placed side, the Reds may have expected a bruising battle at the DW Stadium. Instead, the two teams produced more goalmouth action in the opening 20 minutes than United fans experienced all evening in Marseille during Wednesday's bore draw.

But for a heavy touch on the edge of the penalty area, Hernandez may have netted again in the first half, while Nani rounded off a well-worked passing move by smashing a left-footed shot off the inside of Al-Habsi’s post.