Manchester United's season lives on. On a night when failure simply was not an option for David Moyes and his side, the Premier League champions did enough, just, to secure their passage into the last eight of Europe's premier competition.

Robin van Persie's stunning hat-trick was a fitting way to win a tie that brought the very best out of Old Trafford, with the Stretford End at its loudest for a very long time. For the first time in what feels like a very, very long time, there are smiles again at the Theatre of Dreams.