1. Ahead of kick-off, there can’t have been too many people expecting Manchester United to book their place in the semi-final of the FA Cup. After getting battered by Spurs on Sunday, totally losing their heads in a six minutes period that saw us go 3-0 down, it was a big ask for United to get a win away from home against West Ham. Yet the players pulled out a great performance and were worthy winners in a 2-1 win. As has become a habit of Louis van Gaal, he regularly picks up wins in the big games, with the team playing well, and this was no exception.

2. Marcus Rashford is living the dream at the moment, with the 18-year-old lifelong United fan scoring another crucial goal for his team. The composure he showed when receiving the ball outside of the area, running in, and curling it in to the top corner with two West Ham defenders in front of him, was incredible. What a finish. He was rightly named man of the match, after so regularly posing a threat and proving to be our most exciting player going forward.

3. If Marouane Fellaini played the way he did on Wednesday night, without the context of being a player who had disappointed on so many occasions, United fans would have been full of praise for him. When Andy Carroll had been tipped as the player to boast the most commanding physical battle, nobody predicted that Fellaini could take this title. Several newspapers had Fellaini as their man of the match, after he asked questions of West Ham defence and went on to score the important second goal in a 2-1 win.

4. United’s back line did well this evening, surprisingly, when faced with Payet, Lanzini, Carroll and Moses. Daley Blind’s positioning was spot on and Smalling, who hasn’t played anywhere near as well in recent weeks as he did in the first half of the season, put in a good performance. Van Gaal wanted better communication from his defenders after Spurs, and they showed that.

5. “We’re fackin shit” was the chant from the United fans, following the scathing assessment from Spurs fans on Sunday. Not being able to laugh at ourselves isn’t a criticism that anyone could level at our supporters.

6. The debate over whether we would rather lose against Everton in the semi-finals, if it means confirming Van Gaal’s departure, will rage on. But the fact that we are at Wembley yet again, with silverware up for grabs, is a big deal. With 31,606 tickets available, priced at £30, £40, £50 and £60, you don’t have to worry whether there will be enough supporters keen to make the journey to see our team potentially book the place in the final.