Manchester United vs. Club Brugge: Leg 1 Score, Reaction from Champions League

Memphis Depay's double helped Manchester United to a 3-1 win over Club Brugge at Old Trafford on Tuesday in the first leg of their Champions League play-off clash.      

The Red Devils were forced to come from behind after Michael Carrick diverted a Brugge free-kick into his own net early on. But two first-half crackers from Memphis followed, and the latest of goals from Marouane Fellaini handed United a 3-1 victory.

United had a player advantage for 10 minutes after Brandon Mechele was sent off, and they finally made it count with the last play of the game as Fellaini scored a crucial third.

Per Bleacher Report, the Manchester outfit have set themselves up well to continue their fine record in Champions League play-offs:

Red Devils boss Louis van Gaal named an unchanged team from Friday's 1-0 victory over Aston Villa in the Premier League, per the club's Twitter feed:

Sky Sports News HQ provided the Club Brugge starting XI:

Both sides began the match with attacking intent and carved out half-chances early on. There was no indication that the visitors were planning to sit back and defend.

Indeed, Brugge broke the deadlock in the eighth minute to shock Old Trafford into silence with a potentially crucial away goal.

Victor Vazquez's free-kick deflected first off Adnan Januzaj and then off Carrick and past a flailing Sergio Romero into the United net.

The hosts responded well, and Memphis grabbed the equaliser in stylish fashion in the 13th minute. Found on the edge of the box by an incisive Carrick ball, the Dutchman calmly checked past two defenders before firing home from the edge of the box, per FootballFacts101:

It was a landmark goal for the 21-year-old, per the Sun:

Brugge settled slightly deeper following the equaliser and invited United onto them as the home side began to dominate possession.

Skipper Wayne Rooney had chances from consecutive corners in the 26th minute but could not convert either an ambitious overhead kick or a simpler glanced header.

Brugge looked dangerous at times on the break, but they could not take the lead again and were forced into a substitution five minutes before half-time, per United:

Memphis then added insult to injury as he curled a stunning second past Brugge goalkeeper Sebastien Bruzzese from the edge of the box to hand United a 2-1 lead at the break, per Dutch Football:

"

Stunning stuff from Memphis. https://t.co/otvEPDNUOc

— Dutch Football (@football_oranje) August 18, 2015"

The winger's compatriot, Daley Blind, provided a defence-splitting pass to find Memphis on the edge of the box, and Van Gaal would no doubt have been delighted to see a goal made in the Netherlands.

The United manager opted to make a change at half-time as he replaced Carrick with Bastian Schweinsteiger.

The Belgian side were under pressure again from the off after the break as Memphis continued to have the run of Old Trafford, consistently being allowed to cut inside onto his right foot and fire at goal.

However, the best early chance of the second half fell to Brugge on the hour, when Sergio Romero hesitated in coming out to meet Matteo Darmian's back pass and had to scramble to clear the ball away before Obbi Oulare stole in on goal. 

Four minutes later Memphis should have made it 3-1 after being found in the centre of the box by a delightful Rooney flick. The chance was carved out by Luke Shaw's endeavour as his gut-busting run down the right and measured cross was touched to Memphis, but the attempt flew over the bar.

Brugge were reduced to 10 men with 10 minutes remaining when the referee issued defender Mechele a second yellow card for a late challenge on second-half substitute Javier Hernandez.

Despite creating half-chances, United looked set to be disappointed to have only claimed a narrow victory.

However, as the referee raised his whistle to his lips to call time on the match, Fellaini headed home Memphis' curling cross from the left.

The two clubs meet again for the second leg at the Jan Breydel Stadium on Aug. 26, and Brugge's away goal at Old Trafford could still prove key if they can get on the scoresheet early.

However, Van Gaal's side are in the driving seat heading to Belgium and simply need to put in a similar performance to Tuesday if they are to confirm their return to the Champions League proper.

Post-Match Reaction

BT Sport provided Memphis and Fellaini's comments following the final whistle:

The Dutchman's disappointment at not completing a hat-trick was evident, but he was undoubtedly the difference-maker on the night despite a couple of missed opportunities.