Manchester United fans may never get to show their appreciation for Edinson Cavani but the Uruguayan is ensuring that he leaves his mark even if he does depart this summer.
The 34-year-old scored twice and provided another two assists in a world-class display as United demolished Roma in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final, and it is clear to see why Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is so desperate to keep him at the club beyond the end of the season.
That, sadly, looks unlikely.
Nonetheless, after a scintillating night’s work, it is looking more likely that Cavani will cap off his short spell in Manchester with a trophy.
“Absolutely delighted with him,” was Solskjaer’s assessment post-match.
The only tinge of disappointment to his performance at Old Trafford on Thursday night was that he didn’t get the hat-trick he richly deserved and, as he scored United’s second and third goals on another memorable European night, there were no fans to serenade him.
Solskjaer must be fed up of joking that his side like to make things difficult for themselves and, after a dominant start in which they looked to set the tone for the tie with an impressive goal within eight minutes, it looked to be the same story again.
A dubious penalty decision against Paul Pogba and some dodgy defending allowed the Italian visitors to go in 2-1 up at the break. Solskjaer will be well aware that there will be no room for what he called ‘junior, schoolboy errors’ should they get to the final. But at least this time there was to be no bottling it from his side.
The difference from Solskjaer’s four previous semi-final defeats was the class of the three players who masterminded United’s comeback on the night: Cavani, Pogba and Bruno Fernandes.
Goal.com