Manchester United cruised past host Shrewsbury, 3-0, on Monday to advance to the F.A. Cup quarterfinals and provide some relief for United’s heavily criticized manager, Louis van Gaal.
United, an 11-time F.A. Cup winner, never appeared threatened by third-tier Shrewsbury, the lowest-ranked team remaining in the tournament. Chris Smalling, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard scored.
On Thursday, United will play a must-win Europa League match against F.C. Midtjylland, an unheralded Danish team that defeated United, 2-1, last week in the first leg of that tournament’s round of 32. The loss to Midtjylland followed a 2-1 defeat to relegation-threatened Sunderland in the Premier League.