Manchester United ended their six-year drought without major trophies with a 2-0 League Cup victory against Newcastle at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
Erik ten Hag’s team dominated the first half, with Casemiro scoring off a Luke Shaw free kick and Sven Botman deflecting in a Marcus Rashford shot for an own goal.
Winning the first trophy of Ten Hag’s term is both reward for his accomplishments since taking over from Jose Mourinho last year and inspiration to go further; they remain in the race for three more titles, including this season’s Premier League, FA Cup and Europa League.
Ten Hag has revolutionized the club since arriving from Ajax, overseeing United’s return to relevance after ten years lacking a Premier League crown.
This win, 40 years after their previous one in this tournament, may be just a taste of greater things to come – galvanizing expectations that Old Trafford could soon enter into its latest golden era.
Impressive defensively and offensive throughout the game despite increased Newcastle pressure in second half stoppage time, United exhibited collective maturity indicative of where Ten Hog has brought them since settling at Manchester as well as hope for what is to come.
It might have been Newcastle’s first Cup final in nearly 25 years (on their part too) but it was deja vu all round as Avram Glazer witnessed perhaps the start of a new age of success at Old Trafford.
Certain areas such as goalkeeper Loris Karius’ performance showed signs that still need improvement if these resurgent Red Devils wish to challenge successfully on multiple fronts – headed by coach Ten Hag – but they left Wembley with full spoils nonetheless.
Article updated 2 months ago. Content is written and modified by multiple authors.
