This was the game for Wayne Rooney, as we always sort of kind of maybe thought it might be, sort of, a bit. His goal - which draws him level on 237 with Denis Law in the all-time goalscoring list for Manchester United - lifts Louis van Gaal’s side to first place in this group. It’s a big win, although it was a difficult night for United, whose supporters were not always enamoured with what they were watching. Seydou Doumbia’s double miss - or should that be the heroics of David de Gea and Chris Smalling? - just before Rooney’s goal was a pivotal moment and the mood around Old Trafford might have turned ugly if the CSKA Moscow striker had scored. Tempers were already frayed in the stands. But Doumbia didn’t score and Rooney did. At last. At long last. The drought is over for United. Can they build on this? Thanks for reading and emailing. Bye.

90 min+4: Depay is fouled 25 yards from goal. He dumps it over the bar. That should be that.

90 min+3: The corner is headed away by Fellaini. CSKA attack again and Berezutski’s ambitious header from the edge of the area is easily held by De Gea.

90 min+2: A free-kick to CSKA, just inside the United half. It’s lifted high to the far post and headed behind by Rojo for a corner.

90 min: We’ll have at least three minutes of the added stuff. CSKA don’t look like responding. But who knows, eh? Anything can happen. Even Wayne Rooney has done a goal.

89 min: United make their final change, Ander Herrera replacing Bastian Schweinsteiger, who receives a standing ovation from the home crowd.

86 min: Musa tees up Wernbloom on the edge of the area. He steers a tentative, zero-hearted effort wide.

85 min: CSKA make their third change. Kirill Panchenko replaces Alan Dzagoev.

81 min: Lingard almost builds on his assist by scoring a stunner, but his fierce volley from the right of the area is pushed over by Akinfeev. What a fearsome attacking team!

78 min: David de Gea and Chris Smalling combine to stop Seydou Doumbia from smashing Manchester United’s back door in and then grabbing the points! CSKA mount a rare counter and the usually deadly Doumbia is played through by Musa. Doumbia can’t beat De Gea, though! The United goalkeeper blocks his weak effort but the ball breaks to Doumbia again. He whacks it towards the gaping net but the heroic Smalling throws himself in front of the shot and blocks it wide! And that’s crucial, because...

77 min: I missed Memphis Depay coming on for Juan Mata a few minutes ago.

75 min: The ball is lifted in by Lingard and headed away as far as Carrick, whose low volley from 20 yards skids just wide of the left post. CSKA bring off Zoran Tosic, the former United winger, and bring on Aleksandr Golovin.

73 min: Ashley Young skedaddles into the area and is sent flying by a gust of wind as he tries to con the officials into thinking he’d been fouled by Schennikov. The officials are having none of it. They know it’s a dive from a serial offender. That’s pathetic and desperate.

71 min: Jesse Lingard dribbles inside from the left, evading a wild scythe, and he slips a glorious pass into the area for Mata. He elects not to shoot and instead spins on the spot before sweeping the ball into the six-yard box to Rooney, who’s only a few yards from goal. But he’s got a CSKA defender at his feet and he can’t get his shot away. He tries to shift the ball on to his right boot, like a table footballer, and looks certain to score but it somehow slithers away from him and CSKA survive! Oh, Wayne.

70 min: It’s taken a lot of money to put this spectacle together. Makes you think, and despair, doesn’t it?

69 min: “LVG is not the weirdest Man U manager ever because of Ron Atkinson but still taking off Martial,” says Jeremy Dresner. “The guy makes little sense. I almost feel sorry for Man U fans!”

68 min: The dissent from the crowd is growing. The ball is hoofed into the area towards Rooney, who brings it down on his chest. His shirt is pulled but he stays on his feet. Then he falls. United appeal for a penalty but they get a corner. Nothing happens. If the crowd turns, will Van Gaal be in trouble?

67 min: “We’re Man United, we want to attack.”

66 min: Marouane Fellaini replaces Anthony Martial, a decision that’s greeted by loud, loud boos from the United supporters. It’s time to hit the big man.

65 min: Old Trafford sounds increasingly bored.

64 min: It sounds like Anthony Martial is going to be replaced by Marouane Fellaini soon. Martial has been skittish in possession.

62 min: PSV Eindhoven have taken the lead against Wolfsburg. If the scores stay this way, Wolsburg and PSV will top the group on six points and United and CSKA will be third and fourth respectively with five points.

59 min: Musa, with space to run into for the first time, skin Smalling on the left and swerves a dangerous cross into the area with the outside of his right foot. Doumbia is interested but De Gea is alert, quickly off his line to claim the ball. “Come now Jacob, solitude is surely the natural state for fiercely MBMing whilst eating a block of cheese the size of a car battery (er, one would imagine),” says Ryan Dune.

58 min: Smalling makes a vital challenge to deny Doumbia on the edge of the area after a clever dummy from Musa. CSKA’s threat is already enhanced, although Doumbia probably should have shot first time.

56 min: United have the ball in the CSKA net!!!!!!! But the flag is up for offside against Martial. There are ironic cheers. It’s come to this.

55 min: CSKA bring on Seydou Doumbia for the disappointing Natcho.

54 min: Martial zooms forward, with Schennikov in his sights. He goofs a pass inside to Rooney. But he gets another chance to test the left-back and he wins a corner. The pressure grows but United can’t do anything with a couple of corners, CSKA defending stoutly.

53 min: CSKA have an attack. Nice of them to join in.

52 min: Akinfeev punches the corner away, but only as far as Lingard. He takes a touch on the edge of the area and sees his shot charged down.

51 min: Young’s cross from the right flicks off Schennikov and behind for a corner.

50 min: Rojo swings a cross in from the left. Martial rises but his header drops straight at Akinfeev. They’re getting chances. Will the goal come?

47 min: Lingard bursts past the lumbering Fernandes and measures a low cross into the six-yard box. Ignashevich spoons it over the bar. United take the corner short and Rooney whips a cross into the six-yard box, where Rojo is all alone in front of goal. But he missed from close range in the first half and he misses from close range here, directing his header just past the left post. That was a gimme. “Shooting means conceding possession,” says Adam Hirst. “Scoring is even worse, as you concede possession halfway up the pitch, which is very dangerous. If you keep the ball the whole match, you’ll never lose. Philosophy.”

46 min: United get the second half going. They haven’t had four consecutive goalless draws since 1992. Who was the manager back then?

45 min+1: No.

45 min: Rojo wins a corner on the left. Will anything happen?

44 min: United’s fans are imploring their team to attack. Frustration is growing at this barren run.

42 min: CSKA need to get Doumbia on, assuming his thigh injury is up to it. Musa can’t hold the ball up.

38 min: Schweinsteiger wins another corner on the left. They take it short and make a complete mess of it. The move ends with emergency right winger Chris Smalling being caught offside.

37 min: Lingard’s run causes panic in the CSKA defence again. They try to boot the ball away but Berezutski’s attempted clearance rebounds off another CSKA player and soars behind for a corner. It leads to nothing.

36 min: Marcos Rojo misses another great chance for United! Ashley Young swings an inviting cross towards the far post from the right and Rojo shins a volley embarrassingly wide! If only Martial had been on the end of that.

35 min: Ahmed Musa is very lonely. Can he have some company? It’s not nice being alone. Not that I’d know. No way.

34 min: Still, that was United’s seventh shot of the first half. CSKA haven’t had one. In fact, I don’t think they’ve been in United’s area.

32 min: Lingard wastes United’s best chance. Mata scoots into the area from the right, zigzagging this way and that, and he prods a wonderful pass in between two defenders and through to Young, whose cutback evades Rooney and Martial but reaches Lingard at the far post. Lingard, however, takes a poor touch when he might have shot first time and that leads him to lose composure and rush a hurried shot well over the bar from close range. A poor miss. United should lead.

29 min: Schweinsteiger uses his, er, pace to go on a bustling run through the middle. His heels are clipped 30 yards from goal. It’s probably too far wide out on the left for a shot. Rooney stands over it. Mata runs over it. Rooney bounces a curler towards the far post, looking for Smalling’s head, and the ball skims over the United centre-back and wide of Akinfeev’s goal, the CSKA goalkeeper watching it on its way behind.

28 min: CSKA haven’t mustered a single noteworthy attack.

25 min: United’s threat has faded a little in the last few minutes. Is it happening?

23 min: Smalling flicks a header back to De Gea, failing to realise that Musa is lurking behind him. Luckily for United, De Gea is on hand to blooter the ball away. Catastrophe averted. “How dare you all doubt King Louis?” says Marek Miernik. “He obviously sees beyond your mortal gaze, possibly foreseeing - and therefore practicing towards - the return of the Kirin Cup in a modern, exciting rebranded club format. I bet all you Gruaniad hipsters will be singing his praises when he returns to Old Trafford with that rare shiny. 0-0 is the new ‘winning’, you squares. Philosophise, man.

20 min: Young canters up the right for the first time. He’s fouled by Schennikov, who’s booked. United have a free-kick in a promising position, but Mata’s inswinger to the far post is headed away.

18 min: The problem for United could be if this good start doesn’t culminate in a goal. Given their recent record, will anxiety set in the longer this stays goalless?

17 min: CSKA have barely been in United’s half. They’ve barely started, in fact. A mistake in their own half allows Rooney to peel away down the left. He cleverly tries to pull it back to Martial but the ball is taken off his toes just in time. United attack again, Rojo drilling a low cross-shot in from the left, the ball zipping wide.

15 min: Martial is playing centrally for United, Rooney is slightly deeper and Mata is on the right. It’s making a difference. Here’s another chance. Daley Blind lopes towards the halfway line and spots Mata making a diagonal run inside from the right, so he pings a glorious pass with his left foot over the CSKA defence. Mata slides and tries to divert the ball past Akinfeev on the volley with his laces, but he doesn’t quite make proper contact with his effort and the CSKA keeper makes a relatively comfortable save.

13 min: A lull.

10 min: It’s all United and they’re making inroads down the left. Rojo charges forward again and flashes a cross into the area. Lingard can’t reach it. “Surely there is an issue with the “type” of player on burn-out?” says Richard Coopey. “Owen lived on his pace, so when he lost that he was seen as burning out. Someone like Rooney who covers a load of ground is going to do a lot more damage than, say, a Teddy Sheringham who a) never relied on his pace and b) didn’t exactly over exert himself. The latter could play at the highest level deep into his 30s – the former couldn’t. Ronaldo will be an interesting one – he is obviously such a magnificent player you would assume he could adapt his game as he loses pace as he gets older, but he surely won’t be able to play in exactly the same way for too many more years.”

9 min: Rooney turns in space 25 yards from goal and pokes a fine pass through to Lingard, who’s through on goal. Akinfeev races off his line and just gets to the ball before Lingard, doing brilliantly not to foul the United winger and concede a penalty. The ball squirts to Rojo but again Akinfeev is in the thick of it, throwing himself at Rojo’s feet and forcing him to blast over the bar. United are incorrectly given a corner, though. They take it short. Lingard shimmies clear again on the edge of the area but he whistles his shot over. This is very good from United.

7 min: Lingard is seeing a lot of the ball early on. Again he runs up the left flank and this time he cuts inside and shoots. Fernandes blocks his effort. But the youngster looks bright and positive. “I guess when you compare Ronaldo and Rooney you have to remember that Rooney has had more injuries, he’s had to adjust to playing as a striker, a winger, attacking midfield and combative central holding player and he covered a lot of ground that he was never asked to,” says David Flynn. “Ronaldo has never in his life run like a lunatic 80 yards back towards his own goal to attempt a tackle his central defender could have taken care of.”

5 min: CSKA do not look convincing at all. They faff around with the ball at the back, Berezutski dabbing a short backpass towards Akinfeev, who has to sprint forward to boot it away from Rooney. Perhaps their late arrival will have an effect on the Russians in the opening stages here.

3 min: United attack! Jesse Lingard, who’s started on the left, drives down the flank and runs at Fernandes. He finds Rojo on the overlap and his cross drops to Rooney, who sweeps a sharp snapshot just wide from the edge of the area. United will be encouraged by that move.

2 min: “Attack! Attack! Attack!” chant the United fans. Get off the fence, lads. “Ronaldo looks after himself like he’s his own Ferrari (not the one he crashed in the Manchester tunnel),” says William Marzouk. “He’s a machine. And he’s the superior athlete to all the others you mentioned. His movements calculated for maximum efficiency and minimal wear and tear. Opposition players try to hit him and either miss, or bounce off his liquid titanium musculature. When has he ever been injured for more than a few weeks? We talk about lumbering Rooney. Has Ronaldo ever been spotted lumbering?” True. But just off the top of my head, do players in Spain or Italy or Germany burn out like they do here?

And we’re off! CSKA Moscow, in luminous yellow shirts and shorts, get the game underway, attacking from right to left in the first half. “Do you think LVG like the chaos of a maverick player?” asks Ruth Purdue. “Their unpredictably is not what his well organised, tactical mind likes surely? I always saw the upgrade of his style of play is what Koeman or Pep do. The intensity is there. The predictable and ponderous play is so easy to defend against.” I think Di Maria’s problems last year probably answers your question.

Time for the Champions League anthem. Booooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!! Booooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here come the teams! This Is The One is blaring in the background. Put some new Stone Roses material on. “Schweinsteiger and Carrick behind Mata at the 10 and in front of Blind in defence,” says Gene Salorio. “Who says LvG doesn’t rate pace?”

“It’s probably worth noting that Rooney is now older than Torres and Shevchenko were when their terminal declines started and the same age as RVP when he had his last good season,” says David Flynn. “He’s been playing at the top level for 13 years and maybe it’s time Van Gaal realised that he needs a break, be it temporary or something more permanent.”

There is something in this. I was talking about this with Rob Smyth the other day and he mentioned Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler. I responded with Cesc Fabregas; it was great repartee. Then again, there are plenty of players with miles on the clock who don’t fade. Ronaldo, for one, is older than Rooney. Then again, he’s been playing in Spain for a while. Is it perhaps more to do with the grind of English football?

“The root of United’s attacking problems this season is also the root of their defensive solidity; namely the insistence on playing two ‘number 6’s’,” says Simon Horwell. “Ideally, Van Gaal would go for a more traditional 6,8,10 set-up in midfield with something like Schweinsteiger, Herrera, and Mata. Rather than the 6,6,10 he’s been employing this season. Such a double pivot formation really necessitates a more mercurial forward line that can create moments of individual magic. The only one likely to do that is Martial, who is being played out of position and relied upon far too heavily. Enjoy the game. If you can.”

Louis van Gaal is taking issue with reports in the papers that Memphis Depay and Ryan Giggs were late to the team hotel yesterday. He makes entirely clear, in a very long-winded explanation, that they weren’t late. Okay?

So United make three changes from the side that snoozed to a 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace on Saturday. Ashley Young starts at right-back in place of Matteo Darmian, who’s had a tough time lately, Michael Carrick replaces Morgan Schneiderlin and young Jesse Lingard is in for Ander Herrera, which means that Juan Mata is behind Wayne Rooney. Could that inspire a reversal in Rooney’s fortunes? As for CSKA, the big news from their perspective is that Seydou Doumbia is on the bench. The speed Ahmed Musa leads the line.

“I bet the CSKA bus still moved quicker than any pass and movement Man Utd make tonight and I speak as a fan,” parps Mark Judd. But perhaps the exciting Jesse Lingard will introduce some vim and vigour to proceedings.

Morgan Schneiderlin has been omitted from the Manchester United squad because of personal reasons. CSKA Moscow have announced their team now and arrived at Old Trafford, so I’ll have the full teams with you in a minute. Their struggle to get to the ground should be all the encouragement United need to start at a furious pace.

On BT Sport, Paul Scholes says that he admires the way that Manuel Pellegrini tries to attack in every game, no matter the opposition. I wonder if that’s a pointed dig at a certain someone.

The CSKA Moscow bus has been caught in traffic on the way to Old Trafford, so their team news has been delayed. Wayne Rooney and Jesse Lingard start for Manchester United. I’ll have the full teams for you shortly.