Manchester United vs FC Basel: 5 things we learned as Marouane Fellaini and Romelu Lukaku sink the Swiss

Manchester United got their Champions League campaign off to a winning start with a comfortable 3-0 victory over FC Basel at a sopping wet Old Trafford on Tuesday night.

This was far from United at their fluent best, but then the weather and an early injury to captain Paul Pogba hardly helped matters.

Marouane Fellaini, on as a first-half substitute for the Frenchman, opened the scoring, thumping a header into the net after Ashley Young’s brilliant shimmy and pinpoint cross found the midfielder on the edge of the six-yard box.

United’s second came through similar means, but this time from the other flank, with left-back Daley Blind whipping one in for Romelu Lukaku, one of United's best players on the night, to nod home.

The game rather ambled from there until Marcus Rashford late poacher's goal but Jose Mourinho will be pleased to see his side pick up three points on their return to the competition following a one-year absence.

Here are five things we learned on the night...

open image in gallery

Paul Pogba has been superb for United this season and so it is a cruel blow for the club that he was forced off in the first-half.

The central midfielder went down clutching his hamstring after just 18-minutes of play and the way in which he gingerly got back to his feet and hobbled off down the tunnel – not to mention the frustrated reaction of Mourinho – appeared to suggest it could be a relatively serious injury.

Mourinho will have been delighted that Pogba’s replacement, Fellaini, opened the scoring but United will be desperately hoping Pogba is not set for an extended period on the sidelines. The Frenchman has been a revelation since Nemanja Matic’s arrival and is not easily replaced.

The Belgian often gets labelled as a “quick and strong” striker, which he obviously is, but those two adjectives are far too reductive for a player who has so much more to his game.

Lukaku has already scored six times for United this season – including tonight – and looks on course to get plenty more at home and on the continent with his side promising to go deep in five competitions.

But he also showed off the other attributes to his game here, pulling out into the channels and linking up nicely with Mkhitaryan who really should have made more of his teammate’s generous through balls.

open image in gallery

United have undoubtedly improved their squad this season and with a relatively easy group in the Champions League could well go far in the competition.

But if they want to go all the way they will have to be more ruthless against sides who are likely to hand them far fewer chances than this second-rate Swiss side.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan missed two good chances early on, first heading over when unchallenged and then striking the post from six yards.

Lukaku was also guilty of missing a good opportunity to double his tally for the night after heading the ball into the floor when unmarked at the back post.

Many have asked that if Fellaini is the answer then what on earth is the question Jose Mourinho is asking?

But as much as many United fans dislike him, the big Belgian keeps on delivering. He came on here as a first-half substitute for the injured Paul Pogba and popped up to open the scoring with United having failed to break the deadlock.

His play may be ugly and he may change the style of United’s attacks but Mourinho shows no signs of losing faith.

The midfielder’s celebration after he thumped in Ashley Young’s pinpoint pass, peeling away with his back turned to the fans and pointing to the name on his shirt, showed he still feels he has plenty to prove at Old Trafford.

The Portuguese manager promised last week that his United side would be humble enough to play ugly football this season as long as it meant they picked up points.

And they proved that at times tonight. With the remnants of Storm Aileen buffeting Old Trafford and the loss of the dynamic Paul Pogba to injury early on, United struggled to look fully fluent.

There has been some sumptuous attacking football at times so far this season, but this was a night where they ground out a result against poor opposition.

The first two goals – from Fellaini and Lukaku headers – were more reminiscent of League Two than the club of Charlton, Best and Cantona, but it mattered little: United won.