Wigan Athletic 0-2 Manchester United: Erik ten Hag's side secure their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup thanks to goals from Diogo Dalot and Bruno Fernandes

Manchester United brought so many supporters to the DW Stadium that they occupied the entire side of it. No matter how bad United get, and how low they fall, they'll keep coming to watch.

Here, on a freezing night in Lancashire, United's support got at least a little of what their patience and loyalty deserved. Erik ten Hag's team was professional, dedicated and sometimes expansive.

After their goalkeeper Andre Onana saved them in the third minute, they dominated their League One opponents to the extent that they collected more than 30 shots on target. More importantly, two of them went in and Ten Hag was able to drive home on the M61 knowing that another week of difficult questions had been averted.

Once again members of Jim Ratcliffe's INEOS team were here to see how United's season was progressing. However, it was United's support that made the biggest investment on this occasion, and it was an emotional one. This match was on terrestrial television and took place at the start of a January week which will end with a home game against Tottenham in the Premier League. In short, there was plenty of reason not to be here.

However, the hordes that came saw their team take a stranglehold on the match after a difficult first ten minutes. When fullback Diogo Dalot scored midway through the opening period, the pattern of the match was largely set. And although it took a 74th-minute penalty from Bruno Fernandes to safely progress to round four, Wigan had long since disappeared from the game as an attacking presence.

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Shaun Maloney's team – 18th in the third tier and on a run of one win in six games – played admirably fine football, building the game from the back wherever possible. But at times it seemed as if Wigan would benefit from a bit of directness. They simply didn't spend enough time in the United half.

United goalkeeper Andre Onana is now considered so important to them that he has been persuaded to postpone his departure for the Africa Cup of Nations until next week. Here he saved his team from the worst possible start.

The Premier League team once won a title on this ground, but that was in 2008 and this is now. Things have changed. With that in mind, it was no surprise that they started slowly. After Wigan broke down the right side and Martial Godo passed low to the far post, Thelo Aasgaard would have scored had it not been for Onana's sharp low block with his legs.

With less than three minutes played, it felt like a bad omen for United and indeed the League One side played neat and ambitious football for the next ten minutes.

Godo, on loan from Fulham, posed a particular threat with some quick moves and sharp runs. But Wigan's early momentum was not to last and once United found a way into the match their dominance in the first half was such that it was a matter of particular curiosity that they managed just one goal before half-time.

It was United's pace that Maloney's team could not cope with. Midfield duo Scott McTominay and young Kobbie Mainoo laid a platform of possession for United to build on and when Ten Hag's attackers came at them from all angles, Wigan couldn't really deal with it.

United should have scored before Dalot finally did in the 22nd minute. Marcus Rashford had started the match hesitantly, but he wasn't the only one. He soon found a bit of his true self and Wigan goalkeeper Sam Tickle had to react sharply to save a snapshot low near his right post just before the quarter-hour mark.

Six minutes later, McTominay somehow put a shot wide after a Bruno Fernandes pass with Dalot had opened Wigan like a can of beans. And then, almost inevitably, came the goal.

Alejandro Garnacho has been one of United's better attacking players during these recent difficult times and when he crossed from the right, Wigan were unable to fully clear the ball.

Dalot, a full-back, wouldn't have been everyone's choice to gather possession, but when he curled a shot into the far corner from 18 yards, Tickle wasn't likely to stop it and he didn't.

It was a blow for Wigan and they didn't recover for a while. Tickle fumbled a low Rashford shot onto his post, Rasmus Hojlund was denied by the goalkeeper's leg from an angle and then headed Garnacho's cross onto the top of the crossbar when he should have scored.

With 15 minutes of the opening period remaining, Wigan had been left desperately vulnerable by sharp United play. Rashford was again denied by Tickle before Garnacho hit the crossbar from distance. At the other end, in a rare foray, Wigan's Stephen Humphrys drove low across goal and Godo was almost about to tap the ball home when it raced past him.

United were less convincing in the second half. A lot of the urgency and purpose disappeared from their game. Still, they could have increased their lead with better finishing.

Rashford was off target before Mainoo, impressive overall, drove low from 18 yards and was denied on the stretch by Tickle.

The Wigan goalkeeper has an England Under-21 call-up to his name and was resolute here. Still, he was relieved when he saw McTominay's volley from twelve yards deflect over the crossbar with 25 minutes to go.

Wigan had hardly threatened since that early save from Onana but, crucially, were still in the game. As the match reached the final third, Maloney's team had one or two breaks that caused United some alarm.

The best of them saw Godo racing into space down the left and an early cross to the far post would have seen Liam Shaw waiting. But on this occasion Godo tried to beat one man too many and the opportunity was gone almost as quickly as it came.

And soon all hope was gone. With just over fifteen minutes to go, Fernandes cut back on Shaw and the challenge brought him to the ground. Referee Anthony Taylor awarded the penalty and Fernandes rolled it to Tickle's right after persuading the goalkeeper to go the other way.

More to follow…