Without the likes of Moussa Sissoko, Mathieu Debuchy and Loïc Rémy, the home side always looked more likely to be more conducive to perspiration rather than inspiration, and that is all they ever really mustered. They got the ball forward quickly and hoped to capitalise on indecision, with Papiss Cissé glancing their best first half opportunity onto Anders Lindegaard's palms, but chances were rare.
What inspiration did occur came from the red United. Ashley Young was a probing presence down the right before injury ended his afternoon early. Adnan Januzaj replaced him, joining Shinji Kagawa and Juan Mata in a what proved a devastatingly fluid attack.
