It was only Barnsley in the Carabao Cup, but this was more like it from Manchester United. Erik ten Hag’s side played with a swagger and confidence that deserted them for so much of last season, even in games like these.
So they should. Even allowing for two free transfers and three homegrown players, United’s line-up against a team lying seventh in League One who hadn’t won at Old Trafford for more than a century was worth over £300million – and that was before Ten Hag threw on a wealth of talent from the bench.
It was one of those nights that have been all too rare for the Dutchman; nights when he could rotate his squad, throw in a couple debutants, and sit back and enjoy watching his team play to the sum of its parts.
Marcus Rashford, operating as a centre-forward here, looked energised by his first goal in six months at Southampton on Saturday and scored another two. So did Alejandro Garnacho, who was practically unstoppable and gave Rashford a couple of assists.
Christian Eriksen weighed in with two of his own late on to hand Ten Hag the biggest win of his time as United manager by some distance. More importantly, it feels as though he has steadied the ship after a choppy start to the season with back-to-back wins, 10 goals scored and none conceded.
