Ander Herrera impressed on Manchester United return but it’s bye bye Adnan Januzaj – FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED

Wayne Rooney had gone 878 minutes without a goal
Ander Herrera was tidy at the side of Michael Carrick against Club Bruge
Adnan Januzaj given number 10 role but once again seemed lightweight

Published:
21:01 GMT, 26 August 2015

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Updated:
00:56 GMT, 27 August 2015

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Wayne Rooney ran riot against Club Bruges with a hat-trick as Louis van Gaal’s side booked their place in the Champions League group stages.

With United leading 3-1 from the first leg at Old Trafford, Rooney rediscovered his scoring touch with the returning Ander Herrera adding a fourth in the 63rd minute.

Here, Sportsmail’s Mike Keegan asssesses five things we learned from the rout at the Jan Breydel Stadium.

Rooney’s still got it

We doubted it – he had gone 878 minutes without a goal after all – but the England man can still finish and he proved it here three times. After the ball bounced off him at will in the opening quarter of an hour, it looked as though it was going to be one of those nights.

But on 20 minutes Rooney turned brilliantly on a Memphis pass to turn sharply and dink the ball over the keeper to put the tie to bed. Two more after the break and could have ended with four as United ran riot. Clinical.

Wayne Rooney fires past Club Bruges goalkeeper Sinan Bolat to complete his hat-trick in the 57th minute

Herrera is alive!

They sing about the Invisible Man at City but United’s own version of he who shall not be seen made the starting XI in Belgium. Fans had been left scratching their heads trying to figure out what the all-action Spaniard had done to upset Louis van Gaal after failing to start a game so far this season. Some wondered if he had run over the manager’s cat and yet here he was on the teamsheet!

Herrera was tidy at the side of Michael Carrick and performed well despite being stripped of his attacking licence in the first 45. A different proposition when pushed further up following the arrival of Bastian Schweinsteiger whose delightful through ball he slotted home before heading for the bench.

Ander Herrera, who was making his first start of the season, rounded off the scoring in the 63rd minute

Money, money, money

It is not as though United are short of it, but qualifying for the group stages was very important to the Old Trafford bean counters and there will be small sighs of relief now that they have made it. While an (admittedly unlikely) progression to the Champions League final could net United as much as £100m, this victory alone was worth £8.53m and with gate receipts, points bonuses and TV money they could be looking at £30m. Not bad for a night’s work.

Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal cracks a smile from the dugout as his side run riot in Bruges

Republic of Mancunia

Not one St George’s cross or Union flag in the away end at the Jan Breydelstadion. The disconnect between United fans and England continues.

United supporters find their voice at the Jan Breydel Stadium as their side coast to victory

Bye bye Januzaj

The Belgian youngster was given the number 10 role but once again seemed lightweight, with Rooney continuing to link with Depay. On 45 minutes Van Gaal had seen enough and the curly finger came out. That his departure came before United romped home in the second half will not have gone unnoticed.