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Rooney hat trick leads Man United into Champions League group stage (Video)

Rooney hat trick leads Man United into Champions League group stage (Video)

For the 19th time in 20 seasons, Manchester United will play in the main tournament of the UEFA Champions League this year. And if that sounds like an unremarkable accomplishment, within the context of such a remarkable run anyway, it's telling for the Red Devils' unforeseen struggles in the last few years that their return to the European summit comes as an immense relief following last year's absence – the club's first since the 1995-96 season.

After winning the first leg against Belgian league runners-up Club Brugge 3-1 at home last week, courtesy of two Memphis goals and a very late Marouane Fellaini tally to overturn an early Michael Carrick own goal, ultimate advancement had been a fairly foregone conclusion. But United nevertheless took heart and delight in the ease of its 4-0 win on Wednesday, thanks to a Wayne Rooney hat trick and an Ander Herrera goal. That made it a 7-1 aggregate thumping, ensuring that United will be in Thursday's draw for the Champions League group stage.

From the jump United, which routinely spends more on the transfer fee of a single player than Brugge has on its entire team, controlled the game in the raucous Jan Breydel Stadium. Club Brugge appeared at the kickoff in the throes of an injury rash and sagging form. It showed.

United coolly pinged the ball around – a noted weakness of the team, according to manager Louis van Gaal – as Memphis was first to unlock Club's roomy defense. In the 20th minute, he ran at his man from his assigned left flank, cut inside, hurtled past several defenders and cut a splendid ball through the line for Rooney, who took a clever turn and flipped his finish over the diving goalkeeper Sinan Bolat.

That marked Rooney's first goal in 10 goals and some 876 minutes of action. He expressed his relief, thanked Memphis and set to work on the remainder of his hat trick. But first, Memphis would get another look, spinning through the line on a poor challenge from Davy de Fauw, but fellow defender Oscar Duarte interfered well.

Late in the first half, a seemingly lax United gave away a few chances, but Sergio Romero made a fine save and Daley Blind's backward header skipped just wide of his own goal. Then Abdoulay Diaby took his time on his clear look for Brugge, dribbling too far and allowing Romero to recover and smother the chance. He and his peers would be punished for leaving those chances unconverted.

Rooney was denied a clear penalty to start the second half, but he'd get his goals anyway. In the 49th minute, he'd get to finish off a lovely breakaway. Memphis found Herrera to his right, who simply slid it across for Rooney to tap in his second.

Just before the hour mark, Juan Mata concluded a zippy run inside by laying off for Rooney as well, in a sort of mirror play to Memphis's assist. Rooney stuck home the finish to put a bow on his night.

United wasn't done yet, though. Five minutes later, substitute Bastian Schweinsteiger picked Brugge's lock once more and dispatched Herrera all by himself, who registered the 4-0.

In roughly an hour's worth of work, United doubled its goal tally from its first three games of the Premier League season. Certainly, Brugge all but collapsed in the second half, but van Gaal's men will nevertheless be relieved to learn that they're still capable of scoring goals, which they might have questioned lately.

That made it a tad more palatable that Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez missed an opportunity to get a fifth. After Duarte headed a cross onto his own arm, the beleaguered Mexican got an opportunity to score his first goal for the club since the 2013-14 season, but he slipped on his run-up and rolled his effort wide. Then he headed a clear chance high.

The win was hardly any less emphatic for it. And as United seeks to re-establish itself at the game's summit, it has negotiated this first early-season obstacle with aplomb.

Leander Schaerlaeckens is a soccer columnist for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter @LeanderAlphabet.