Real Sociedad vs Manchester United – Europa League: Live score, lineups and

Say what you like about the Europa League, Real Sociedad were top in Spain when they were paired with Manchester United in the draw for the last 32 in mid-December.

No slouches, the boys from San Sebastian. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer felt it was the toughest assignment his team could have been handed from the unseeded pot, and you could see where he was coming from.

But on neutral ground at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, the Spaniards were torn apart by a United side that all but secured a place in the last 16.

Daniel James slotted home the fourth goal to all but secure Manchester United’s progression to the next round 

It was a job well done for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side who played with incredible pace on the break in Turin 

Marcus Rashford scored the third goal with a tidy side-footed finish to put the result of the game beyond any doubt

The striker celebrated with his team-mates having missed a couple of good chances earlier on in the game 

Bruno Fernandes was once again the architect of this victory. How many times have we been able to say that before?

He scored twice to put United in control of the tie as they ruthlessly punished Sociedad for playing too high and leaving space in behind for Marcus Rashford, Dan James and Mason Greenwood to exploit with their pace.

Rashford and James scored the other goals, and there could have been many more were it not for goalkeeper Alejandro Remiro.

Bruno Fernandes notched his 20th and 21st goals of the season and was again integral to United’s performance 

Solskjaer said that he would be happy to play this tie as a one-off game and in the end he kind of got his way. Next week’s second leg at Old Trafford is a formality.

This was a Champions League performance from United 72 days after they crashed out of Europe’s premier competition; one that will feed the belief they can go one better than last season when they lost in the semi-finals of the Europa League to Sevilla.

That was the third time in a row United had gone out to Spanish opposition – in fact they had not won against any LaLiga team in their last nine attempts – but that run was ended in emphatic style on Thursday night.

‘The experience from last season has helped this team and these boys,’ said Solskjaer.

‘The semi-final defeat is still back of our heads – it hurts. We should have gone all the way.

‘On a night like this when we find spaces we can be a dangerous team. We found ourselves a little bit tonight. I thought the boys got that little bit of zip in…