LASK 0-5 Manchester United: Solskjær's men earn comfortable win

Manchester United scored five times without reply to take a handsome advantage in this UEFA Europa League round of 16 tie.

Match at a glance

United were in the ascendancy from the start and Odion Ighalo gave them the lead when he controlled Bruno Fernandes' pass and rifled in off the bar from the edge of the area.

Daniel James ended his 32-game run without a goal after the interval when he latched on to Ighalo's pass, cut inside and whipped a low finish past Schlager. It was a matter of how many United would score thereafter.

Ighalo hit a post before Juan Mata made it three as LASK wilted. There was still time for substitutes Mason Greenwood and Andreas Pereira to provide further gloss in added time.

Odion Ighalo wheels away after his stunning openerUEFA via Getty Images

View from hosts: Jordan Maciel, LASK reporter

It was billed as David versus Goliath, but this giant proved too big for LASK to overcome. United were in control from the start and picked off LASK with an efficiency that highlighted the gulf between the two sides. Though the scoreline doesn't reflect his side's performance, Valérien Ismaël will be disappointed by the late collapse and how little they troubled Sergio Romero in the visitors' goal.

Visitors' view: Matthew Howarth, United reporter 

It was a straightforward victory for United, who looked a class above the Austrian league leaders for the majority of the contest. Inspired by the excellent Bruno Fernandes, the visitors surely put the tie beyond LASK's reach with a professional and clinical display, extending their unbeaten run in all competitions to 11 matches in the process.

Andreas Pereira rounded off an emphatic United successUEFA via Getty Images

Reaction

Valérien Ismaël, LASK coach: "We saw Manchester United's quality tonight. I think the margin of victory was too big, but it's a learning process for us. The UEFA Europa League journey is over for us."

Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Manchester United manager: "You can say it was professional, but it was also a very good job. It wasn't just professional and efficient, we played quality football. We got more or less everything we asked from the boys. All the goals are high, high quality. They had one chance in the first half, with a great block from Eric Bailly. The back four and Sergio Romero did well as well. The boys were so focused and the team spirit was there to be seen."

Daniel James shows his delight after ending his goal droughtManchester United via Getty Imag

Key stats

• Daniel James struck his first goal for Manchester United in 33 games, ending a scoreless run of 2,527 minutes in all competitions.
• Manchester United are unbeaten in their last 13 UEFA Europa League knockout phase matches.
• United have only failed to score in one of their last 23 UEFA Europa League matches.
• The Red Devils have kept eight clean sheets in their last ten UEFA Europa League matches.
  
• This was LASK's heaviest ever home defeat in European competition – they had never lost by more than two goals before tonight.

Line-ups

LASK: Schlager; Ranftl, Ramsebner, Trauner; Reiter, Michorl, Holland (Haudum 76), Renner; Tetteh (Raguz 61), Klauss, Frieser (Balić 71)

United: Romero; Shaw, Bailly, Maguire, Williams; McTominay, Fred, Bruno Fernandes (Pereira 78); James (Chong 71), Ighalo (Greenwood 85), Mata