Forgotten Manuel Ugarte moment showed why Manchester United waited all summer for £42m signing
Manchester United cruised into the Carabao Cup fourth round after dismantling Barnsley 7-0 at Old Trafford to record the biggest win of the Erik ten Hag era.
Ten Hag made eight changes for the game but saw his side produce a devastating attacking play to leave the League One side shellshocked. Two goals apiece for Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Christian Eriksen and an Antony penalty sealed victory.
Rashford's return to form continued with a fine performance as a striker while Garnacho has taken his tally of goal involvements this season to seven despite only starting once. Eriksen's double added the final two goals while Antony netted in the first half after winning the penalty.
United will have to wait until next Wednesday to find out their opponents in round four.
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Ugarte's influence
As a snapshot of Manuel Ugarte's game it worked pretty well. The aggressive, no-nonsense holding midfielder committed a third foul of the first half just before the break and drew blood. His own.
The collision with Luca Connell was one of those duels for the ball that could have gone either way in real-time. It went against United's new £42m man but he rolled around the floor in agony and you could see why. A substantial gash on his knee had blood pouring from it.
Maybe the decision went against Ugarte because he had already left his calling card on his full debut. He left a little bit on Vimal Yoganathan and Connell before this incident and you could see the aggression he will bring to this team. Ugarte has described football as a game when you have the ball and a battle when you don't and you could see that here, even against League One opposition.
That was most notable a few minutes into the second half. The Uruguay international read Adam Phillips' intention with a pass in midfield and shot forward to intercept it. It transformed a defensive situation into an attacking one and 10 seconds later the ball was in the back of the Barnsley net.
Ugarte won the ball and fired it into Rashford, who laid off to Eriksen. His first-time pass sent Garnacho racing clear and in this kind of form, he was never going to miss.
Antony gets Casemiro gesture
Antony's evening started inauspiciously with a loose first pass but on a night when the £85m winger had to make an impact he grew into the game and left a strong enough impression on Ten Hag.
The Dutchman had told his former Ajax charge that he had to "earn the right in training" to start games, having played just one minute in the last seven games dating back to last season. Ten Hag acknowledged Antony's impatience but made it clear that Rashford, Garnacho and Amad were now ahead of him.
A strong tackle from Corey O'Keeffe ended one first-half dribble but Antony showed a turn of pace he has been accused of lacking to win a penalty, latching on to Rashford's through ball to beat goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina to the ball and win the spot-kick.
Rashford looked set to take the penalty until the intervention of Casemiro, captain for the night, who asked for the ball to be handed over to Antony. Casemiro might have sensed the need to boost the confidence of his fellow Brazilian and the penalty was sweetly struck.
Champions League comes second
On a night when the relaunched Champions League dominated the TV screens and the social media discourse, a crowd of well over 70,000 packed into Old Trafford for a Carabao Cup third-round tie against a League One side lacking in glamour.
This was a remarkable night for United and a reminder of their pull as a football club. It's hard to imagine any other club attracting such a crowd when the attractions elsewhere were so obvious. To put it into context, there were barely any empty seats at Old Trafford but thousands at the San Siro, where AC Milan were playing Liverpool.
Sir Dave Brailsford, Omar Berrada, Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox occupied their regular seats in the directors' box, with Sir Alex Ferguson not far away. No temptation of a night in front of the Champions League for the Scot.
United would have been cursing their participation in the Carabao Cup this week. The reshaped European competitions mean the Champions League four in the Premier League enter next week. That is where this club belongs and where Ineos need it to be, for financial reasons as much as anything, but in a funny kind of way, this was also a reminder of the sheer size of Manchester United.
Collyer's learning curve
This will be a valuable night for Toby Collyer, who was asked to play in the unfamiliar position of left-back and started the game in a manner which would have sent far more experienced players under.
The 20-year-old gave the ball in the first minute and was spared the concession of a free-kick by referee Gavin Ward playing advantage. Three more fouls followed inside the first 25 minutes and the youngster making his first senior start of any kind was fortunate not to find himself in the book.
Ten Hag's cup record
Ten Hag's trophy talk in recent weeks has become something of an issue. Ever since winning the FA Cup in May the Dutchman has been keen to reinforce the message that he has won two trophies at Old Trafford and that only Manchester City can better that since 2022.
It's factually accurate but is the wrong message to portray when the team has been struggling. But to give him his credit his domestic cup record is extraordinary.
This was the 21st Carabao Cup or FA Cup fixture of Ten Hag's tenure and just two have ended in defeat, to Newcastle at Old Trafford last season and City at Wembley in the 2023 FA Cup final. United have progressed in the other 19.
They will face more daunting tasks than an outmatched Barnsley at home but it's still an impressive record and that ability to navigate knockout football could put them in the frame for more silverware this season.