Towards the end of what may be his final appearance at a stadium he all but owns, he was still at it. Dashing into the penalty area with the ball at his feet, Ryan Giggs could, briefly, have been 20 again, rather than 40.

On this occasion, his momentum was interrupted by what appeared to be a handball by Hull defender Alex Bruce. Denied a penalty, Giggs raged — arms raised — at the referee. If he really is going, if these are his final days at Manchester United, he is not going quietly.

Five minutes later, warming to his cameo as a second-half substitute, Giggs had the ball again. This time he was hurtling down the left wing, as if following the footprints his endless forays have worn there over the years.

Once again Bruce was his immediate opponent and this time he was left on his backside as he dived in. Even after two decades, some opponents still haven’t learned. In an instant, Giggs was gone, the low, left-foot cross that followed forcing a sliced, hurried clearance from another Hull defender.

On paper, Tuesday night will seem to have been all about an 18-year-old debutant called James Wilson. The young striker scored two goals and by the time he was replaced with half an hour left, the Stretford End was singing his name.

That, however, does not tell the story at all. It was Giggs who, out of the blue, picked Wilson and his youth-team colleague Tom Lawrence. It was Giggs who was making a point to those senior players who had flunked their lines at home to Sunderland three days previously, Giggs who was perhaps making one last push to be retained as part of Louis van Gaal’s coaching staff next season.

And so the night went on. By the end, Giggs had played perhaps the pass of the game to release Robin van Persie for United’s third goal. In injury time, he had brought a plunging save from Hull goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic with a sweet free-kick. Had the ball found the corner of the goal, Giggs would have continued his record of scoring in every Premier League season. The rueful smile which played on his face as he jogged over to take the resultant corner revealed that it really meant something, too.

This is not how United imagined they would end their Old Trafford season when they began the defence of their Premier League title against Chelsea nine months ago.

A smattering of empty seats, nothing to play for, novice coaches in the dug-out and kids thrown in to the first team to make something — anything — happen. Looked at like that, the wreckage of this remarkable United season becomes stark.

Nevertheless, United won, one of those youngsters scored his first two senior goals and the Stretford End was able to say farewell to departing captain Nemanja Vidic with something approaching a smile.

There have, it must be said, been many worse days and nights here this season.

Hull were lamentable opposition. Steve Bruce’s team couldn’t have eyed their forthcoming FA Cup final against Arsenal more obviously had they walked out of the tunnel for kick-off reading the Wembley match programme.

An advert for the fabled competitiveness of the Premier League this was not.

Giggs could not change that, however. After the disappointment of Saturday’s defeat, he decided to make a point and, in doing so, ensured his team picked up three.

Young Wilson certainly made his mark. He could have scored inside three minutes as he failed to connect properly with Marouane Fellaini’s knockdown and eventually did drill a right-foot shot past Jakupovic when his team-mate set him up in identical fashion half an hour later.

Having dominated the first half, United should have led by more. They could have had two penalties, for a start.

At the heart of their forward thrust was young Adnan Januzaj. The Belgian is a rather more familiar figure than Wilson and Lawrence and he was United’s best player by some distance here. The beauty of Januzaj lies in his directness and he set up United’s second goal just after the hour with a blazing run down the right.

In truth, Fellaini should really have scored when Januzaj’s low cross reached him but when Jakupovic saved, Wilson mopped up adroitly from 10 yards.

At that stage a hat-trick seemed possible. Giggs soon dashed those hopes by replacing the youngster with Van Persie.

Moments later Hull somehow dragged themselves back into the game as one of their own substitutes, Matty Fryatt, curled a perfect, powerful shot past David de Gea from 25 yards. It was pretty much Hull’s first shot on target but a most unlikely comeback briefly looked possible. Had De Gea not saved from David Meyler, the scores would have been level.

As it happened, Meyler will be remembered more for an ugly late stamp on Januzaj that may yet see the FA banish him from the Cup final. United, for their part, rediscovered their ascendancy and by the end Giggs was ambling around the park as though his career was just beginning.

Nobody knows yet what the immediate future holds for English football’s favourite Welshman. He has carried himself well over the last fortnight but there are no guarantees.

His speech to the crowd at the end didn’t sound like a farewell but, as we await Van Gaal’s coronation, question marks hang heavy.

—Daily Mail