United’s failure to play in Europe’s elite club competition last season was a source of frustration for Di Maria, even though he knew that would be the case when he completed his move to Old Trafford from Real Madrid.

The GO Sports UEFA Champions League app is available from iTunes or Playstore across the following platforms on both smartphones and tablets; iOS 7.0 and above, Android, 4.03 and above. The fourth spot is after all a privilege that the Premier League has been given since the 2001-02 season.

So what are the odds of that scenario occurring?

It comes as no surprise to hear United aren’t expecting to have blowout transfer windows every summer and after two in a row, it’s now up to van Gaal to make sure he gets the most out of his team. The bottom line is that would take another season of English under-achievement and sustained Italian success to alter the status quo. But with the advent of modern football, and more intense competition from across europe, in the UEFA Champions league era no one has achieved the feat. Considering that the 2007-08 edition of the Champions League featured three English teams in the semi-finals and an all English final, it’s clear that there has been a lot of regression during the years. In the last three seasons, the Portuguese powerhouse has netted 25 goals in the competition from just 23 appearances.

“This is rubbing salt into the wound”, Manchester United Supporters’ Trust vice-chairman Sean Bones said.

Oh yes. Most definitely.

Man City and Liverpool were also present in the last 16 of the Europa League.

“If you don’t have the players to change then it can become complicated”.

It’s ridiculous, for example, that the champions of Scotland and Holland – Celtic and Ajax who drew 2-2 last night – have to go through qualifiers to get into the group stages when some countries have four representatives.

Pre-match fears that the 5.30pm kick-off – the latest start for a league game between the arch rivals for a decade – would spark trouble proved misplaced as United ran out 3-1 winners.

He continued: “With the Champions League group stage starting tonight and the Capital One Cup beginning next week, we are back to playing twice a week now and the games will come thick and fast for the foreseeable future”.