LONDON: Manchester United may just have found a new star to fill the club’s iconic No 7 shirt.

New signing Memphis Depay moved United closer to qualification for the lucrative Champions League group stage on Tuesday, scoring a superb first-half double and providing an assist for Marouane Fellaini’s stoppage-time header in a 3-1 win over Club Bruges their play-off first-leg clash.

“I want to kiss him tonight,” United manager Louis Van Gaal said of Depay.

On a night of close finishes in all five first-leg playoff games, the 21-year-old Dutch winger opened his United account with a memorable performance in the famous number seven shirt previously worn by George Best, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo.

It’s still very early days — three competitive games, to be precise — but Depay is already fast becoming an Old Trafford favorite.

Signed from PSV Eindhoven for a reported 25 million pounds ($39.15 million) in May, Depay scored two thrilling goals in the 13th and 43rd minutes after Bruges had taken an unexpected early lead.

Depay’s whipped cross for Fellaini’s header in the fourth minute of injury time — when Bruges were down to 10 men after Brandon Mechele’s 80th-minute red card — was just as impressive and might be even more important for three-time European Cup winners United who missed out on Champions League action last year.

“That goal makes a big difference because at 2-1 it is a difficult result for us,” said Van Gaal, who won the Champions League with a sublimely talented young Ajax side in 1995.

“We deserved much more because we created a lot of chances. It is what I am always saying, you have to be effective. I am happy because of the last goal. We have practised that before when we need Fellaini.”

Late goals were a theme of the Champions League playoffs on Tuesday.

Lazio also found it tough as they squeezed a 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen with a 77th minute solo strike by substitute Keita Balde and BATE Borisov of Belarus beat Partizan Belgrade 1-0 courtesy of Mikhail Gordeichuk’s 75th-minute strike after the Serbians were reduced to 10 men.

Islam Slimani struck an 82nd-minute winner for Sporting Lisbon in a 2-1 victory over CSKA Moscow to end the Russian side’s nine-game unbeaten streak in Champions League qualifying games.

Earlier, a 14th minute header from striker Baurzhan Dzholchiyev enabled FC Astana to become the first Kazakh club to win a UEFA playoff match as they beat APOEL Nicosia of Cyprus 1-0.

BIGGEST IMPACT

But it was Depay who made the biggest impact on the night after United midfielder Michael Carrick had deflected a Victor Vazquez free-kick into his own net after eight minutes.

However, United drew level within five minutes thanks to a sublime piece of individual skill from Depay, who collected a pass from Carrick on his chest, juggled the ball into space and evaded two challengers before netting a low right-foot shot.

His second was even better. Daley Blind’s slide-rule pass split Bruges’ defence and found Depay, who curled home a shot into the far corner from marginally further out than his first goal.

“I ended last season with a lot of goals,” Depay said. “You come to a big club and you have to do a good job again. It is a nice feeling to score two goals at Old Trafford.”

United huffed and puffed to get what could be a crucial third goal and finally managed it in the dying seconds as Fellaini, who played under Bruges coach Michel Preud’homme at Standard Liege from 2006-08, scored.

Astana did not exist when United won the last of their European Cups, in 2008.

But the government-backed team, who are playing in the Champions League for the first time this season, could provide a great story line after taking the initiative in the matchup against APOEL.

Sporting got an early goal at home to CSKA as Costa Rican international Brian Ruiz set up Teofilo Guttierez and the 30-year-old Colombian marksman rifled the ball past experienced goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev.

CSKA inched back into the match and should have been level but for Seydou Doumbia seeing his 27th minute penalty saved by Rui Patricio but the Ivorian made no mistake five minutes from the half-time break, seizing on Roman Eremenko’s perceptive through ball to beat Patricio.

The hosts, though, regained the lead eight minutes from time as Algerian international Slimani finished off a delightful 1-2 with Andre Carrillo giving Akinfeev no chance.

Leverkusen had the upper hand in the second half in Rome but were hit on the counter-attack by a razor sharp Lazio move which resulted in Keita — who had replaced German veteran Miroslav Klose at half-time — outstripping his marker and planting the ball into the far corner of the net with 13 minutes remaining.

BATE — no strangers to the group stage — secured their win after a second half of intense pressure when Gordeichuk headed in a corner from Igor Stasevich to break Partizan’s stubborn resistance.—Agencies

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play