Manchester United thumped Crystal Palace in their Carabao Cup third round clash on Tuesday evening.
Erik ten Hag’s side made it two wins on the bounce as they look to build momentum after a slow start to the 2023/24 season.
It will go down as one of our easiest wins of the season and United fans will hope Crystal Palace as just as poor when they return to Old Trafford on Saturday.
As we reflect on the game itself, the positives outweigh the negatives by some margin.
Pros
Young players grasping their chance: Hannibal Mejbri is the latest academy graduate to take his chances in the first team, and we suspect he will continue to be rewarded with game time throughput the season. There was also a senior debut for Daniel Gore on his 19th birthday, while Facundo Pellistri impressed on the right wing.
Garnacho and Martial get on the scoresheet: We need our forward players scoring more goals this season, so it was a relief to see Garnacho and Martial get off the mark. Hopefully Rasmus Hojlund can score his first Premier League goal this weekend. Garnacho and Martial both took their goals very well against Palace.
Casemiro masterclass: There can be no doubts over who was man of the match at Old Trafford last night as Casemiro looked to be finding his best form again. The Brazilian hit top gear as United drove Palace out of the Carabao Cup, with a goal and assist for his efforts.
Another clean sheet: Consecutive clean sheets for Andre Onana after the howler in Munich. This can only be a good thing.
Solid full debut from Amrabat: The Moroccan was asked to play at left-back, but it looked like he was playing everywhere on the pitch bar left-back. Amrabat’s energy and ability to pass the ball benefited the team in midfield. I also think he makes Casemiro’s job a lot easier.
Jonny Evans is a Red, he hates Scousers: Can you imagine what it feels like to be Evans right now, after the last two games? A stunning assist at the weekend only for the Old Trafford crowd to sing his name on repeat last night. We need more feel good stories around this club and I, for one, think it was a wise decision from Ten Hag to bring him back in the summer.
Control: It was nice to see United get an easy win for once. Ten Hag’s side had control of the game from start to finish, so I hope to see more of the same on Saturday.
Into the fourth round: United’s defence of the Carabao Cup started as we all expected it to… with a win as our objective to reach another Wembley final remains a possibility.
Cons
The wait for another home draw: No negatives from the game other than the wait for another home draw tonight. The draw is scheduled to take place just after 10pm this evening, subject to Man City’s clash with Newcastle not requiring penalties.
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