On Sunday, Man United manager Erik ten Hag guided his club to a 2-0 Carabao Cup final victory over Newcastle, delivering the Red Devils their first trophy since Jose Mourinho’s departure.
Six years ago, when Manchester United beat Southampton to win the Carabao Cup under Jose Mourinho, the onus was on the Portuguese to sustain success. One victory was good, of course, but fans wanted the silverware to keep coming – something they were used to when Sir Alex Ferguson ruled the roost. Now, Erik ten Hag must succeed with a challenge his predecessor ultimately failed.
Few expected United to win a trophy this season, particularly after the shambles of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick last term.
Certainly, there weren’t many coming forward tipping them to claim silverware after woeful defeats to Brighton and Brentford in their opening two league games.
But United have never been a club to just lie down and accept their fate. Fast-forward to now, and the transformation has been completely remarkable.
The Red Devils won their first trophy in six years on Sunday, putting Newcastle to the sword with a professional display on a straightforward afternoon at the office.
Casemiro set the tone, with the United star netting a header following a pinpoint free kick from Luke Shaw.
And with Marcus Rashford posing all sorts of problems for Newcastle, Sven Botman’s own goal ultimately made the result safe.
Newcastle went forward in search of a goal that would give them hope but, ultimately, it wasn’t to be their day.
Instead, the contest belonged to United – with Ten Hag, his players and members of his coaching staff all jubilantly celebrating in the aftermath.
As well they should. It has been a tough six years for United, a torrid decade in truth ever since Ferguson walked off into the sunset.
Now, the challenge for Ten Hag is to ensure this isn’t a one-off. Fans want trips to Wembley and trophies, too. Both must now follow.
In 2017, United looked like they may just re-emerge from their post-Ferguson slump. They won the Carabao Cup at Southampton’s expense, with the Europa League then following a few months down the line.
Mourinho was the man the Glazers felt could keep the cups coming. In the end, it was to be a false dawn.
United did proceed to finish second and make the FA Cup final in 2018 but were outplayed by Chelsea as they lost at Wembley that year.
Mourinho was never going to hang around for long, not least due to the Glazers’ failure to sign the players he wanted frequently throughout his stint in charge.
Now, however, they’ll want Ten Hag to succeed where the Portuguese failed.
Ten Hag’s classy Fergie gesture
Erik ten Hag invited iconic former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson into the Red Devils’ dressing room to join in with the celebrations after winning the Carabao Cup.
The Old Trafford outfit ended their near six-year trophy doubt at Wembley on Sunday afternoon – a strike from Casemiro and a Sven Botman own-goal proving to be enough to claim the trophy. It was also a fantastic achievement for Ten Hag with the Dutchman securing his first piece of silverware with the club less than a year after joining the Red Devils.
Amid the post-match celebrations – Ten Hag taking the acclaim of his squad and also dancing with former Ajax stars Lisandro Martinez and Antony – the Dutchman made sure that legendary former manager Ferguson was involved. The pair met in the tunnel shortly after captain Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes had lifted the trophy.
source: www.express.co.uk
