At Wembley Stadium on Sunday, Manchester United defeated Newcastle United 2-0 to win the Carabao Cup, ending their six-year trophy drought.
Yet, United looked at ease in their performance against Eddie Howe’s team as Casemiro’s header and a Sven Botman own goal gave Newcastle too much to overcome in their first League Cup final appearance since 1976. United last won a major trophy in their 2017 Europa League campaign.
At a chaotic beginning, there weren’t many clear-cut chances, but on 33 minutes, United scored the first of two quick goals as sturdy midfielder Casemiro plunged one side of Wembley into chaos.
The Brazil international skillfully flicked a header into the far corner after Luke Shaw sent a dipping pass from a wide free-kick. After a VAR assessment, it was determined that he had been played just slightly onside.
Six minutes later, with the momentum in their favor, United increased their advantage when Newcastle’s Botman assisted Marcus Rashford in scoring his own goal.
As United tightened their hold on the trophy, Wout Weghorst raced forward and sent Rashford in behind. Rashford’s attempt from a tight angle was deflected up and over the reaching Loris Karius by Botman.
With a well-placed shot from a distance in first-half stoppage time, Weghorst again came close to scoring, but Karius, who made his first start since February 2021, was up to the task.
The second half saw Newcastle make a stronger but toothless comeback, with Joelinton getting the closest but seeing his shot expertly blocked by Lisandro Martinez as United easily sealed the victory.
United had a better season during Ten Hag’s first term in charge, finishing third in the Premier League standings and remaining in the Europa League draw. The Dutchman is Jose Mourinho’s successor as the club’s winningest manager at Old Trafford.
