After a five-month coronavirus-induced hiatus, big names in European football finally confronted in empty stadiums on Wednesday as both Manchester United and Inter Milan booked their places in the Europa League quarterfinals with relative ease. 

"Some of these lads haven't played for a while and it showed. Some haven't played since lockdown," observed United coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after his second-string side coasted to a 2-1 home win over LASK Linz to seal a 7-1 aggregate rout of the Austrian giants.  

"We learned that the players need to play to keep that sharpness. For me, it was a good exercise. It's job done, minutes under the belt and on to face Copenhagen," he added. 

Jesse Lingard again impressed and netted for the second consecutive game, canceling out Philipp Wiesinger's opener, while Anthony Martial came off the bench to clinch the win four minutes from time. 

United's win sets up a reunion for Solskjaer with his former Norway teammate Stale Solbakken, who takes charge of Copenhagen.

Inter's encounter with Getafe was an one-off game played in Germany due to the coronavirus disruption. It was a more one-sided affair as Romelu Lukaku became the club's first player to score in five straight European appearances in 16 years, helping the Serie A powerhouse cruise to a 2-0 victory. 

Lukaku broke the deadlock on the hour mark and substitute Christian Eriksen sealed the game  with his first touch after coming on. 

"I'm very happy for the team because I can see that they are eager to continue this adventure and not go on their holidays," said Inter coach Antonio Conte post-game. 

Next up for Inter is likely to be Bayer Leverkusen, which leads Rangers 3-1 ahead of the second leg on Thursday.

Alexis Sanchez's future sorted out 

Meanwhile, United have confirmed that Alexis Sanchez will be joining Inter on a permanent transfer. According to BBC, the precise terms of the deal are unknown but is almost certain to have involved United taking a significant financial hit. 

The deal will bring to an end one of the most controversial transfers in United's history, as Sanchez, the highest-paid players in the team, only scored five goals in 45 appearances for the Red Devils. 

"We wish him all the best and he is a top player who we want to see play his best football. For whatever reason we didn't see the best of him here, but he's a top professional and we wish him all the best," said Solskjaer. 

Elsewhere, Borussia Dortmund have denied holding any transfer talks with Man United over Jadon Sancho amid mounting speculation that the English winger is on brink of moving to the Old Trafford. 

"So far, there has been no contact between Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United in terms of Sancho, either indirectly or through alleged intermediaries," Dortmund managing director Hans-Joachim Watzke told SZ. 

"I assume that Jadon will go to training camp on Monday and play with us for the coming season," Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc added. 

Later in the day, Manchester City announced that they have signed Bournemouth center-back Nathan Ake, who joined Bournemouth in 2017 for a club record fee and made 121 appearances. 

"Pep (Guardiola) is a manager admired across the world. What he's done in the game speaks for itself," said Ake. "The success he's had is unbelievable and the style of football he plays really appeals to me." 

The 25-year-old becomes City's second summer signing following the arrival of Valencia youngster Ferran Torres on Tuesday.

Bale left out for Man City showdown 

In Spain, Zinedine Zidane confirmed that Gareth Bale has been left out of Real Madrid's 24-man squad for the Champions League last-16 second-leg tie against Manchester City on Friday. 

Captain Sergio Ramos will travel with the squad, despite being suspended for the fixture. 

City won 2-1 in the first leg in February before the COVID-19 pandemic put the competition on hold. The Welsh superstar has only started 14 games in all competitions this season for Zidane's side 

Last summer the 31-year-old was expected to move to Chinese Super League club Jiangsu Suning in a lucrative deal, but the move collapsed when Real Madrid change their mind at the last minute.