Manchester United touched down in Germany on Sunday for the final leg of a Europa League campaign that has lasted the best part of a year and taken Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his players from Kazakhstan to Cologne.
The stakes for Monday's one-off quarter-final against FC Copenhagen are not as high as they could have been, given that United have already qualified for next season’s Champions League.
The empty RheinEnergie Stadion in Cologne will do little to enhance the sense of occasion either as United face the prospect of three games behind closed doors at the 50,000-seater arena if they reach the final on August 21.