Man United 4-0 Wigan by Simon Williams at Old Trafford

FA Cup holders Manchester United progressed to the fifth round of this year’s FA Cup with a comfortable 4-0 win over Championship side Wigan Athletic at Old Trafford yesterday.

Marouane Fellaini, Chris Smalling, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Bastian Schweinsteiger were all on target for the Reds in the first ever meeting between the two sides in the competition.

Jose Mourinho made nine changes from the team that lost 2-1 against Hull City in their League Cup semi-final second leg on Thursday night with Chris Smalling and Marcos Rojo the only players to retain their place in the starting XI.

Former United reserve team manager Warren Joyce, who was returning to Old Trafford for the first time since joining the Latics in November, picked the same starting XI that beat Brentford 2-1 in their last game.

And it was the 2013 FA Cup winners who started the game the brighter of the two sides and could have taken a deserved lead when Callum Connolly’s stinging drive from the edge of the area tested Sergio Romero who pushed the ball to safety.

Juan Mata had United’s best chance but could only volley the ball over the bar from a Mkhitaryan deflected cross before the Armenian sidefooted a Tim Fosu-Mensah ball wide of goal from a yard out.

But a minute before the break the home side finally found the back of the net when Fellaini headed a Schweinsteiger cross past Jakob Haugaard. The goal was harsh on Wigan who had been impressive up until that point.

Joyce’s side were left rueing that missed opportunity as minutes later United doubled their lead when Smalling nodded the ball home before Mkhitaryan and Schweinsteiger made sure there were no late scares for Mourinho’s side.