Manchester United produce clinical display to lift EFL Cup against Newcastle
Charged by emotion, Newcastle fans had taken over London in the build-up to the final, and created a raucous atmosphere by kick-off, making Wembley seem more like the Gallowgate End at St James’ Park.
By half-time however, their dreams of a first major domestic trophy for nearly seven decades had been squashed by the ruthless Red Devils – the very team that beat them 24 years ago in their previous cup final appearance.
A fast start from the Magpies failed to materialise into a goal, with the tricky Allan Saint-Maximin the only player to test David De Gea before the interval.
Just as they had done against Leicester last week, Erik ten Hag’s men rode the storm and applied the sucker punch beyond the half-hour mark, as Luke Shaw’s free-kick was met by a brilliant glancing header from the evergreen Casemiro.
The celebrations from Wembley’s red and white section were palpable, with a sixth League Cup trophy now in grasping distance.
Less than 10 minutes later, United repeated the act. Wout Weghorst got the ball under his spell and deftly slotted through to man of the moment Marcus Rashford, who saw his shot deflect off Sven Botman and over the despairing dive of stand-in goalkeeper Loris Karius.
He perhaps ought to have done better with the looping effort, and will have certainly endured flashbacks to the horrors of his 2018 UEFA Champions League loss to Real Madrid in Liverpool colours.
Taking charge of his first major final, Eddie Howe now had the unenviable task of motivating his players to overturn a two-goal deficit if his team were to be victorious, and avoid a ninth successive loss at Wembley.
But the greater experience of key Man Utd players such as Casemiro and Raphael Varane proved instrumental, as the Red Devils contained Newcastle’s attacks with relative ease.
Newcastle’s endeavour for a goal to get them back on the contest was starting to leave them exposed at the break, and they were indebted to Karius to deny Rashford’s powerful effort from the edge of the box.
Ten Hag’s men hadn’t conceded a goal in this competition in their last four matches en route to the final, and the same solidity was on show here until the resounding final whistle, as the Dutchman matched Jose Mourinho by winning the League Cup in his first season in charge at Old Trafford.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Casemiro (Manchester United)