It wasn’t at all pretty... but United keep calm & Harry on

But while thousands might be finding it impossible to resist the temptation to dance in the streets of Liverpool at the moment, Project Restart is providing little joy for the rest of the country.

There was no other way, given the financial meltdown.

But while football without fans might be something, it is certainly nothing special.

This is the beautiful game after plastic surgery.

Supporters don’t just keep football alive with the direct debits they set up to pay for tickets.

They transform the game into the spectacle that prompts millions to switch on from the comfort of their armchairs. The only thing that might have prevented everyone apart from the most diehard Norwich and Manchester United fans from reaching for the remote control was that the alternatives offered elsewhere included The Masked Singer US and Celebrity Snoop Dogs.

The only two shots on target during 90 minutes brought a goal apiece for each side, courtesy of United’s Odion Ighalo and City’s Todd Cantwell.

And the tie was heading for penalties before skipper Harry Maguire fired United to Wembley two minutes from the end of extra-time with a scruffy goal that illustrated the evening perfectly. There’s a reason why TV schedulers have chosen to screen every United Cup game since what feels like the White Horse Final. The Reds are box office. So there would have been some infuriated groans heard in Salford Quays when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer handed in his team sheet to reveal that Marcus Rashford (left), Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial would be on the bench. All three were on the pitch at the end when Solskjaer eventually realised that Norwich could smell