That’s enough about Romelu Lukaku; we can return to the subject when he roofs his third in the final. Jamie Jackson’s report on tonight’s game has dropped, so I’ll leave you with that. Thanks for your company - goodnight.

“Lots of rose-tinted comments on Lukaku,” says Nigel Mitchell. “Not a bad player by any stretch. But, his finishing was poor and cost United in many games. Plus he looked worn out after 10 min of a match.”

There was one game – Chelsea at home in 2018-19, I think – when he was unplayable for 20 minutes, absolutely monstrous, but had clearly run his race well before half-time.

These are all tonight’s Europa League results

• Copenhagen 3-0 Istanbul Basaksehir (agg: 3-1)
• Shakhtar Donetsk 3-0 Wolfsburg (agg: 5-1)
• Man Utd 2-1 LASK (agg: 7-1)
• Internazionale 2-0 Getafe (one-off game)

United will now play Copenhagen in Cologne on Monday. Inter meet Bayer Leverkusen or Rangers, while Shakhtar will be up against Basel (almost certainly) or Eintracht Frankfurt.

That was a strange old game. The tie was over four months ago, and it showed. LASK enjoyed themselves on their first visit to Old Trafford, and took the lead with a belter from Philipp Weisinger. Jesse Lingard, who played with a confidence we haven’t seen for about 18 months, equalised shortly afterwards and Anthony Martial came off the bench to score his 23rd goal of the season.

90+3 min Romero makes a really smart save from Raguz, who flicked the ball behind his standing leg at the near post.

90+1 min Mata put Martial through again, and this time his left-footed shot is kicked away by Schlager. Martial was flagged offside after the event, though I’m not sure it was the right decision.

90+1 min This has been a unique game of football, and not in a good way.

90 min “Re: five things we learned from this game,” says Phil West.

1. Lingard is quite good still but may be not good enough unless Jose says so.
2. Dan James is nifty
3. John Williams was nifty, and is now nifty for his age.
4. You can write a sentence with five “ridiculous” and its derivatives.
5. LASK are an Austrian team

“The last one may only apply to precocious six-year-olds up late but still...”

89 min Ranftl plays a nice one-two with Sabitzer before driving well wide from the edge of the D.

87 min “I agree with you in many ways,” says Tim Stappard. “Lukaku is a Conte/ Mourinho player but as a Utd fan I wouldn’t want him tearing Maguire apart.”

He’s still a bloody good player, and stranger things have happened in football than him putting United out of the Europa League with a hat-trick. But if United were going to aim high – really high, Fergie high – he had to go. Martial is much more suited to the way Solskjaer wants to play, with movement and stuff.

86 min Christian Eriksen has put Inter 2-0 up against Getafe, so they look set to play Rangers or Bayer Leverkusen in a humdinging quarter-final.

85 min A double change for United. Anthony Martial and the debutant Teden Mengi replace James and Fosu-Mensah.

84 min After some fancy skills in the build-up from Chong (a kind of Cruyff turn chop) and then Pereira (a Zidane pirouette), McTominay drags a low shot just wide from the edge of the D.

80 min Another LASK substitution: Andres Andrade off, Petar Filipovic on.

79 min “Hi Rob,” says Matt Burtz. “If only because it might be my favourite Everton goal, I just want to note the similarities between Wiesenger’s goal and the one scored by Phil Jagielka at Anfield in 2014. Minus hitting the bottom of the crossbar, of course.”

Jagielka’s was much better I’d say - not just because of the crossbar porn, but because he cut across the ball where Wiesinger had the easier task of hitting it with the inside of the foot. Still a damn fine goal, mind.

77 min Mata has been much bettter in the second half, with lots of those familiar first-time passes into space. It’s still a dog of a game, but he has made it slightly more watchable.

75 min “In 2016, Mourinho inherited Martial and Rashford whilst Guardiola inherited/acquired Sane and Sterling,” says Digvijay Yadav. “By the time Mourinho left, the United duo were so far behind. Almost scandalous what Mourinho was allowed to do to them. Should have shown patience with them like Fergie did Rooney and Ronaldo from ‘04-‘06. Instead he went and bought Lukaku and Sánchez. Still fuming about that.”

One thing in Mourinho’s defence – he realised very early on, a lot sooner than most of us, that Rashford was a left-sided forward rather than a No9. But this is the first season in which they have both thrived since van Gaal’s last few months, albeit having swapped positions.

73 min Another LASK change. The teenager Thomas Sabitzer, cousin of the marvellous Leipzig midfielder Marcel Sabitzer, replaces the goalscorer Philipp Wiesinger.

73 min “Hi Rob,” says Craig Foley. “As a Swansea fan I’d bite your hand off if you offered us Dan James back on loan next season. He probably doesn’t need to worry about spot in the Wales squad for the Euros, but he’s still young (this is only his third season after all) and needs regular games to develop. Also, I saw John Williams play in a charity game last year. He still had a burst of pace but it was just the one burst in the entire game!”

That put him one up on most 52-year-olds, and me.

72 min Tahith Chong comes on for Brandon Williams.

71 min A fierce low shot from Reiter is saved at the near post by Romero, though I’m not sure he knew that much about it. He got in a bit of a tangle and the ball hit his leg before deflecting away.

71 min I pity the fool who has to write a ‘Five Things We Learned’ on this game.

70 min Pereira plays a good one-two with Mata but then crosses too close to Schlager.

67 min “How has OGS been vindicated on Lukaku?” says Tim Stappard. “Ridiculous statement. If Utd get to the final he could well be awaiting. Scored a brutal goal v Getafe.”

The clue’s in the word ‘Getafe’. I just think Martial is a much better No9 if you aspire to win the Premier League and Champions League. You disagree, which is fair enough, but in no way it is a ridiculous statement. Saying it’s a ridiculous statement is ridiculous, I’ll give you that, and now I feel ridiculous for pointing out the ridiculousness of you saying it was ridiculous!

66 min A LASK chance: Dominik Reiter for Husein Balic.

63 min Jesse Lingard and Fred are replaced by Paul Pogba and Andreas Pereira. Both don’t look thrilled to be substituted, Lingard in particular, but I would suggest their removal is a good sign given what’s to come.

62 min “Wondering how you feel Solskjaer is vindicated on Lukaku?” says Michael Bradbury. “He’s been banging them in for Inter (23 in 36). I guess because his absence has allowed Rashford and Martial to flourish?”

More Martial than Rashford, I think. Solskjaer effectively replaced Lukaku with Martial, who had the best season of his career and even managed a personality transplant. I don’t think you can win the Premier League with Lukaku in the team, but you might with Martial. It was a brave decision because the safer short-term bet would have been to keep Lukaku to score cheap goals against the weaker teams and buy Solskjaer some time. But it wouldn’t have done anyone much good in the medium term.

61 min Mata has a shot blocked and then Fosu-Mensah blazes a drive into orbit.

60 min On reflection, maybe it is Lingard’s goal. There is a split-second between Lingard’s shot and Wiesinger’s tackle, so if the original shot was going on target it will count as his goal.

59 min The goal may well be given to Lingard, which would be his second in two games, but I reckon that was Wiesinger’s goal.

56 min Wiesinger almost scores again! He ran onto a square pass, 25 yards out again, and this time drove a low shot just wide with Romero scrambling across his goal.

That was a spectacular strike from Philipp Wiesginger. A corner from the left was headed away by Fosu-Mensah at the near post and ran to Wiesinger 25 yards from goal. He had time to take a touch or three but instead sidefooted a booming first-time curler that beat the diving Romero and flew into the top corner.

53 min Mata clips a nice first-time pass out to Williams, who moves into the area and slides a low cross that just evades the stretching James in the six-yard box. Williams had so much time there, almost too much.

51 min “Why this obsession with playing Maguire?” says Tim Stappard. “Whatever you think of him, and to me he’s the most overpriced defender ever, he needs a rest.”

I suspect Solskjaer gave the regular first XI the option to play tonight, and Maguire was the only one who said yes. Paul Scholes made the point that he looks like the kind of player who likes the rhythm of regular games, and this was never going to be the most taxing night.

50 min: United have their first shot on target Lingard and Mata combine neatly to find Ighalo, who evades Michorl with those deceptively quick feet but then shoots too close to Schlager.

47 min Lingard slides a good pass to find James, whose cross towards Ighalo is too close to the keeper. United’s final ball has been desperate.

47 min “Hi Rob,” says Peter Oh. “The visitors were riding high at the top of the Austrian Bundesliga before the pandemic-induced shutdown, but have endured a chaotic time during lockdown and the restart. They were docked six league points for violating lockdown restrictions, their manager was fired and they lost numerous matches (including their final three league fixtures on the trot) to finish well off the pace.”

46 min Peep peep! United begin the second half.

Half-time reading

“How many of these players do you think are in the shop window?” asks Digvijay Yadav. “I’d say Lingard and the absent Dalot, at least. More impressive than the incomings have been the outgoings under OGS: Fellaini, Darmian, Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez, Herrera etc. With the exception of Sánchez, not technically good enough for United.”

I liked Herrera, though I realise I’m in a minority. I’m really pleased Solskjaer has been vindicated on Lukaku, which was a brave decision and one for which he received pelters in the winter. As for this lot, I think most of them will stay next season. I’d say the only ones who might be sold this summer are Mata, Lingard and Bailly, plus Pereira on the bench.

“Hiya Rob,” says Adam Kline-Schoder. “Ever since that video surfaced of Dan James falling madly in love with a puppy, the mere thought of him being low on confidence makes me sad. More seriously, he was such a bright spark when he first came; hopefully he’ll be given the time to rediscover his mojo.”

I doubt he’ll make it at United, which is a shame as he seems a decent lad and I love the idea of United having somebody who is even faster than John Williams. I’d be tempted to send him out on loan next season.

45 min “If the last 20 minutes of the first half of this near meaningless Europa League tie against significantly weaker opposition is any guide, Jesse Lingard is BACK, baby,” says Barry Bryan. “Clearly the man to add depth to Fernandes’ position.”

He’s played nicely, hasn’t he. The thing that really stands out is his confidence, especially that lovely flicked pass to Ighalo.

44 min United will doubtless bring on some of their best XI in the second half, to give them a little workout ahead of the quarter-final, so LASK may have missed their chance of an historic yet kinda pyrrhic victory at Old Trafford.

43 min McTominay’s fizzed through pass almost finds Mata, but Renner comes across to cover on the edge of the area.

41 min “Hi Rob,” says Matt Burtz. “Re: Jesse Lingard, there’s a subsection of the Everton fanbase that thinks that he’s nailed on to come to Goodison. I disagree, but there is ample evidence of Everton taking the rejects of ‘bigger’ clubs and putting them on high wages (see Iwobi, Delph, Schneiderlin, Sigurdsson if you count his time at Spurs, etc.). I don’t think Carlo Ancelotti will operate this way, but as Jerry Seinfeld once noted, anything’s possible.”

I did think of Everton, then I was overwhelmed by an image of cuddly Carlo wagging a finger at me with a stern look on his coupon. It’s certainly not beyond the realms that he will join them, but I don’t expect it to happen. Lingard’s playing well tonight and looks very confident, so maybe that weird goal at Leicester will give him a new lease of life at United. The more I think about it, if he leaves United he’ll go to Spurs, where Mourinho will buy all the players who have done well under him elsewhere. Lingard and Mesut Ozil will float behind Harry Kane, with Ricardo Carvalho and Pepe setting a new Premier League record of 17 consecutive red cards clean sheets.

39 min McTominay is booked for introducing Balic to the lush Old Trafford grass.

36 min Lingard eases a through pass down the inside-right channel to James, whose low cross is put behind for a corner. United’s final ball has been very poor so far.

35 min Michorl is booked for a two-footed tackle on Lingard. He should have been sent off. I genuinely have no idea whether they are using VAR tonight, and am only too happy to share my expertise in this area.

32 min Lingard flicks a lovely first-time pass to Ighalo, who cuts back inside Trauner in the area and is about to shoot where Renner appears to poke the ball to safety.

30 min Mata’s gentle outswinging corner is headed a few yards wide by Maguire. That wasn’t much of a chance, because there was no pace on the ball and he was 12 yards from goal. Maguire only scored one goal in the league last season; he should really be getting six or seven, such is his set-piece threat.

28 min Another chance for LASK. Renner on the left curls in a terrific cross towards the near post, where Balic forces his way into front of Maguire and flicking a looping header that drifts just over the bar.

27 min “Dear Rob,” says Nick Gatto. “Re: your preamble. Rangers fan here. I seen what you did there.”

I did say the likeliest route to winning a trophy. Actually, I’ve just realised I didn’t say the likeliest route, but I should have done.

26 min James hares into space down the left, cuts into the area but then runs into trouble. He looks so low on confidence.

25 min Balic leaves it to - yep - Michorl, whose free-kick hits the wall.

24 min Fosu-Mensah fouls somebody 25 yards from goal. The free-kick is to the left of centre, and Balic is over it...

23 min LASK have had the better opening, such as they are. Trauner clips a good pass over the defence to Ranftl, who drives a low cutback towards the penalty spot. Balic gets to it first, just in front of Fosu-Mensah, but the ball slices off the outside of his foot and away. That was a chance.

22 min “Will the lesser-spotted Jesse Lingard be a United player next season if Sancho joins the already overcrowded forward roster?” asks Justin Kavanagh.

I think United will struggle to get rid of him even if they want to. He’s on pretty big money - £100,000 a week, reportedly – and I can’t think of an obvious fit in the Premier League. I might have said Brighton before they signed Adam Lallana. Actually, Mourinho might take him – Lingard played his best football, by far, under him.

21 min Nothing much is happening. But you knew that would be the case before the game.

17 min “Fosu-Mensah is, if not quite someone I’d carry a candle for, a player I really liked the look of when he first came about,” says Christopher Faherty. “Cover at right-back is an issue fpr us, Dalot’s a solid enough player when he lines out but appears to be made of biscuits.”

You were there at his birth? But seriously, Ole clearly doesn’t trust Dalot, rightly or wrongly, and Fosu-Mensah is certainly worth keeping. He’s still only 22. I’m not sure he’ll ever be good enough to be a regular but at this stage of United’s development I think he’s fine as a squad player.

16 min Michorl belts a first-time shot into orbit from 30 yards. He wants a goal at Old Trafford, doesn’t he.

14 min United haven’t really got going yet. Lingard looks quite bright, as does Fred, but James has been peripheral and Ighalo hasn’t had any decent service.

10 min LASK are bright and breezy in possession, and look like they have come to enjoy themselves. A long throw is headed behind by Maguire for LASK’s first corner. It’s booted behind for another by Fosu-Mensah. The second corner is whipped in dangerously by Michorl and headed up in the air by one of a number of bodies on the six-yard line. Andrade runs onto the loose ball and loops a header against the crossbar. The rebound eventually comes to Wiesinger, who whistles a shot just wide of the far post.

5 min Michorl receives possession 50 yards from goal, inhales the rarefied Old Trafford air and tries to drive a chip over Romero. It drifts well wide.

4 min Fred sprays a superb 60-yard pass across the field to Mata. He moves into the area and tries to find the unmarked Ighalo in front of goal, but his square pass is unusually scruffy and Andrade stretches to concede a corner.

Mata swings the corner to the far post, where Maguire heads over the bar. That was a decent chance.

3 min While LASK can’t go through, they can still win a match at Old Trafford, and that would mean plenty. Their odds (14/1 last time I looked) are pretty generous given they are playing against United reserves.

1 min Peep peep! After a minute silence, the players on both sides take a knee. And then LASK get the match under way, kicking from right to left. They are in white; United are in their new 2020-21 home strip. It’s not great, I can’t lie to you.

The players emerge on a cool evening in Manchester. There has been a bit of talk about players potentially forcing their way into the team for the Europa League mini-tournament, but realistically that’s not going to happen. With the possible exception of the goalkeeper, we all know what the starting XI will be against FC Copenhagen on Monday: de Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Williams; Pogba, Matic; Greenwood, Fernandes, Rashford; Martial.

It’s been 146 days since the first leg, and for once Uefa aren’t to blame. No, I can’t remember much about it either. Happily for both of us, Tim de Lisle has turned an apparently everyday match into a memorable piece of writing.

FC Copenhagen 3-0 Istanbul Basaksehir (agg: 3-1) is the final score in Denmark, so United will play Copenhagen in Cologne on Monday.

Shakhtar Donetsk have also qualified with a 3-0 win over VfL Wolfsburg (agg: 5-1). It was 0-0 after 88 minutes. Shakhtar will almost certainly play Basel, who lead Eintracht Frankfurt 3-0 from the away leg, in the last eight.

It looks like United will face FC Copenhagen in the quarter-final on Monday. They are 3-0 up against Istanbul Basaksehir, an aggregate lead of 3-1, with 25 minutes to play in Denmark

Pre-match reading