In the four European games prior to Ruben Amorim’s arrival earlier this season, Mason Mount had been restricted to just 19 minutes of action.

Eleven of them came in the 1-1 draw against FC Twente and the remaining eight arrived with Ruud van Nistelrooy in temporary charge for the 2-0 win at home over PAOK Salonika. 

It just about summed up the stop-start nature of life at Manchester United. Even when the chips were down, United were plodding on without Mount.

Even when others were ready to write Mount, who joined in 2023 as Erik ten Hag’s No 1 target for £55million, off, Amorim defended him like a father would a son.

‘I have to tell you I love that kid,’ Amorim said of Mount in November after starting him for the first time in Europe this season at home to Bodo/Glimt.

Mason Mount came off the bench to score twice as Man United reached a Europa League final

Ruben Amorim was beaming from ear to ear to see Mount make such a meaningful impact

‘The first thing is he is working really hard. And then you have to understand the human also. He wants this really badly. That is the most important thing.

‘You can see in his eyes that he wants this so bad.’

Amorim doesn’t smile a lot; there hasn’t been a great deal to smile about at Manchester United this season.

But when Mount scored from long range to get his second, and United’s fourth goal, on Thursday night, Amorim beamed from ear to ear like the proud parent he has always painted himself to be when it comes to Mount.

Team-mates celebrated that bit more that it was Mount, too. Joshua Zirkzee, sidelined through injury, rushed over to the midfielder at the final whistle to give him a bear hug.

Academy ace Harry Amass, who counts Mount as a close friend in the dressing room, was another to make a big fuss over the 26-year-old on his crowning night in a Manchester United shirt.

‘Not just me, if you look at the bench, that is the best feeling as a coach,’ Amorim said of the celebrations at Mount’s goals.

‘When you look at the other guys on the bench, they are so happy for Mason Mount because everybody in that dressing room sees Mason doing everything he can to be available.

Mount’s United career has been spoiled by injury and he has had to be patient for his chance

His second goal on the night – United’s fourth – was a stunner scored from near-halfway

Amorim (right) has been Mount’s No 1 fan since he took charge of the club back in November

‘He’s a really good player and you can see both goals are really good goals. So I think not just Mason Mount, not just me, but also the team-mates, they were so happy for him.’

So, it was to be Mount’s night at Old Trafford. Finally. The headlines his for positive reasons, just as he has dreamt of so often since pitching up here from Chelsea almost two years ago.

‘I knew something good was going to come,’ he said.

‘I carried on going, working hard in training every day and trying to stay positive, and when I had the opportunity like this, it paid off.’

United sources constantly stress how Mount’s revival is about so much more than being a golden child in the eyes of Amorim.

During the last pre-season Mount spent 10 days in Portugal, paid for and organised on his own accord, with a personal trainer to get an edge on peers after such a disappointing and injury-hit debut campaign at United.

Club sources also speak up Mount’s positivity despite constant setbacks with muscle injuries which have ruled him out of around 50 games since joining.

Part of the Mount appeal to Amorim is that he is one of the few that doesn’t need educating to the 3-4-2-1 system he so strongly believes in, having played it under Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea.

Mount put in a lot of work last off-season and it is paying dividend at the perfect time now

But it is also because he has never once downed tools when so many critics had already written off the player in a United jersey.

So when the No 7 illuminated green on Thursday night with United playing with semi-final fire against Athletic Club, the stage was set for Mount’s big night.

In 28 minutes, Mount scored twice on just 19 touches, had a 100 per cent pass accuracy, won 80 per cent of his ground duels and scored twice from two shots to become the first substitute to score a brace in a European knockout match for United since David Beckham in 2003. Not bad company to keep.

And when calm returned to Old Trafford and the stands had emptied out, few could blame Mount from heading back out onto the pitch to soak up such a special night in what has been a special week after he scored his first goal of the season at Brentford.

Having a kick about with Luke Shaw and Shaw’s son, Mount could not stop smiling, and who could blame him?

‘Moments like these are worth the wait,’ he wrote on social media nearing midnight. He will just hope the next big moment doesn’t take so long to arrive.