Twitter Reacts as Wayne Rooney Hat-Trick Inspires Man Utd Champions League Win

Manchester United were in Belgium on Wednesday night in order to secure their place in the Champions League proper, riding on a 3-1 safety cushion from the first leg of their playoff clash with Club Brugge.

To sum up the events of the night in a single Vine, let's start here:

"

When you snap your 10-game goal drought with a hat-trick #Rooney #mufc http://t.co/5BbXniWiSs https://t.co/Y93i4mPU9B

— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) August 26, 2015"

 Despite teetering on the edge of a triumphant return to major European competition, Louis van Gaal's men have been suffering something of an image problem lately, as the Dutchman's brand of football is not the exciting fare the Old Trafford faithful are used to:

Before the game, however, it was clear that a dull stalemate would be perfectly acceptable under the circumstances: 

One fan was particularly confident that United would get the job done:

"

If Brugge beat Scum 2 nowt tonight, I'll buy their full kit and dance a celebratory jig in it.

— #CellinoOut (@NorthernMisery) August 26, 2015"

The main team news before kick-off was the lack of United's "Schmidfield," with Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin starting on the bench. Many were glad to see Ander Herrera and his positive, forward-passing style enter the midfield, but the hope was that the Basque star would partner the Schimdfield: 

The first 15 minutes of play, however, were notable for Herrara's questionable contributions:

"

Maybe that's why Van Gaal isn't starting Ander Hererra…

— Yannick Quintal ♉️ (@yannickquintal) August 26, 2015"

In the 2008 film In Bruges, the Belgian city was portrayed as an exceptionally boring place. The opening movements of the game did nothing to help that reputation:

"

@ManUtd are painful to watch to be honest. They've been dull and uninspiring for many a game now. #mufc

— Varun Bakshi (@HazyBakshi) August 26, 2015"

"

And people called Chelsea boring... FFS, COME ON UNITED! #mufc

— Riems ManUtd (@RiemsManUtd) August 26, 2015"

After 20 minutes of meandering play, however, the deadlock was broken by a man who has been relatively unfamiliar with finding the net—Mr. Wayne Rooney:

"

Rooney scores a goal and journalists everywhere in England goes back to pretending he's the best player in the country.

— Stefan Schwarz (@StefanxSchwarz) August 26, 2015"

Memphis "Hero of the First Leg" Depay earned plaudits for his excellent assist, but the Dutchman came under fire for some of his subsequent play, which was deemed selfish and clumsy:  

"

Depay is seriously the most overrated dribbler of all time, I can dribble much better than him.

— 10 (@Febreezion) August 26, 2015"

"

Memphis Depay is a fraud

— Masai Lincoln (@MasaiLincoIn) August 26, 2015"

"

Depay holds on to the ball for too long

— BK (@brunokj_) August 26, 2015"

A few minutes before the half, there was mild panic for United when Abdoulay Diaby found himself in a one-on-one situation with Sergio Romero. Somehow, the Malian conspired against himself and missed, but United's defence did its credibility no favours:

"

Why we defending such a high line, when we're 4-1 up in the tie?? Relax ffs!! #mufc

— Jackson (@MUFC689908) August 26, 2015"

Regardless of the back line's efforts, Romero started trending after the save:

"

Impressed with Romero even more so tonight #MUFC

— Manchester United (@MUFCLiveNewsHQ) August 26, 2015"

"

The "who needs De Gea we have Romero" tweets are a bit early! DDG is a class above. Saying that some good saves so far from the Argentine.

— Manchester Utd Stats (@UtdNumbers) August 26, 2015"

A few minutes into the second half, Rooney all but confirmed his team's place in Thursday's group-stage draw with his second goal of the night:

"

Great combo and finish from Rooney! https://t.co/Njl08VeXf0

— World Soccer Shop (@worldsoccershop) August 26, 2015"

"

When people thought that Rooney would go on a goal drought yet scores 2 goals in the UCL #mufc pic.twitter.com/12JQOAhVIM

— Juan Mata (@JuanMataTouch) August 26, 2015"

Shortly before the hour mark, Rooney marked his Return To Form™ by completing his hat-trick:

"

Before tonight Wayne Rooney hadn't scored in 10 games. He's now United's top scorer this season. pic.twitter.com/vLyd8INX2C

— Uber Football (@UberrFootbaII) August 26, 2015"

"

Rooney to the haters pic.twitter.com/oZDk2mRmVd

— Siyabonga Nyezi (@siyanyezi) August 26, 2015"

"

Trying to work out whether you should put Rooney back in your fantasy team... pic.twitter.com/K7EU6Rw3g6

— Football Jokes (@LaughingFooty) August 26, 2015"

"

Rooney hat-trick..more points for my dream team https://t.co/WN2IA0bYlv

— Stevie (@StevieC1989) August 26, 2015"

Not long after Rooney firmly placed himself back in the good graces of United fans, Ander Herrera did exactly the same thing. Picking up a sublime through ball from Schweinsteiger, the Spaniard made everyone completely forget about his sins from the first half when he made it 4-0:  

"

LVG this is why you should play Herrera regardless

— Satii (@Sati_SS21) August 26, 2015"

"

That performance of Herrera should cement his place for our next match. Well played @AnderHerrera

— Woodward Time (@Scholesy_Giggsy) August 26, 2015"

Ten minutes from time, Oscar Duarte headed a Rooney cross onto his own arm, and the referee blew for a penalty. A harsh decision ultimately wasn't punished, as Javier Hernandez slipped as he struck the spot-kick and put it wide:

The epic miss was made even more enjoyable for neutrals by the look it inspired on the bench. Look out for this in memes for years to come:

Hernandez went on to miss another sitter before the game finished 4-0, giving United a 7-1 aggregate victory and a much-welcomed place in the group-stage draw. It did not end up being the boring game many feared, and Wayne Rooney appears to have rediscovered his shooting boots—but can Man United do it on a cold Tuesday night in Catalonia?