Manchester United eases into FA Cup quarter-finals at Shrewsbury's expense

Manchester United overcame a potential banana skin in rural Shropshire and advanced to the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 3-0 victory at Shrewsbury Town.

Micky Mellon's League One outfit held off its illustrious host until the 37th minute, when Chris Smalling found himself in acres of space in front of the Salop Leisure Stand and prodded a deflected finish beyond Jayson Leutwiler.

Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard added goals in an expected yet morale-boosting win that earns a home tie with West Ham United in the next stage. Louis van Gaal's attentions now move to Thursday, and overturning a 2-1 scoreline against FC Midtjylland in the Europa League.

Here are the three main takeaways from United's comfortable FA Cup progression at the expense of the Shrews:

England still walking on Memphis

Memphis Depay only celebrated his 22nd birthday just over a week ago, so it would be foolish to write the Dutch international off. However, there's no question that the winger is struggling to acclimatise to English football.

Wearing the coveted no. 7 shirt and with £25 million paid to PSV Eindhoven for his services, United fans hoped for a player who could make an immediate impact in red. Instead, he has often been second fiddle to Lingard.

While the enthusiasm and kicking feet of League One players are things he isn't exactly familiar with, his trickery and pace were easily matched by the Shrewsbury backline. His performance was epitomised in the 82nd minute, when he scuffed a bobbled shot harmlessly toward the corner flag when he found space at the edge of the box.

Encouragingly, there were more shots fired by United on Oteley Road, but Depay's efforts were particularly weak.

Set-piece confusion ruins Shrewsbury's organisation

Used to deploying a back four throughout his managerial career, Mellon instead opted for a back three, with wing-backs Jack Grimmer and Junior Brown deep when needed - which was often.

It worked admirably in the earlier stages, with a narrow five often restricting United's midfield to speculative, and forcing wayward efforts into a crowd of mocking Salopians. This approach wasn't going to yield many scoring opportunities for Shrewsbury, but with the quality that Andy Mangan has brought to the Greenhous Meadow since he re-joined in January from Tranmere Rovers, there was an outlet to hold up the ball in attack.

Then confusion over defensive duties after clearing a set-piece proved costly. Zak Whitbread was originally stood on the England international, who remained in attack following the clearance, but then delegated his role to Nathaniel Knight-Percival. The late switch was punished immediately:

A free-kick just before the break from Juan Mata all but confirmed United's advancement in the FA Cup, despite three of his teammates appearing to be in shot-stopper Leutwiler's sight line, and therefore offside.

Related - VIDEO: Mata's free-kick doubles United's advantage at Shrewsbury

Not exactly a disastrous outing for the third-tier struggler, and Mellon has some talent that should be enough to avoid relegation.

The Scot oversaw the progress that earned Jamie Vardy a £1-million move to Leicester City from Fleetwood Town, and has also recently sold Connor Goldson and the intelligent Ryan Woods to Championship clubs. Fulham has made a shrewd decision to lend Grimmer to Shrewsbury to improve under Mellon's tutelage, and at 22 he still has the potential to ply his trade at a higher level.

Another injury to contend with

It's hard not to feel sympathy for Will Keane. Afforded an opportunity due to United's unbelievable spate of injuries, his evening lasted just seven minutes after he was forced to withdraw with what appeared to be a groin injury.

There was brighter news for United fans before kickoff: David De Gea is reported to be nearing a return since his freak warm-up injury. It would be a timely option for Van Gaal, after Pione Sisto was a real nuisance in the Europa League first leg last week and isn't afraid to have pops on goal.