Manchester United marched into the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup with a routine 2-0 win over Championship table-toppers Burnley at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.
Goals either side of the half-time interval from Christian Eriksen and Marcus Rashford sealed the Reds' spot in the last-eight for the third time in the last four seasons. It was a strong and professional showing from Erik ten Hag's side, meaning they have won each of their last three matches.
They joined the likes of Leicester City, Newcastle United and Southampton in reaching the quarter-final finals where they will now face League One side Charlton Athletic next month. Manchester City also joined them in the next round on Thursday evening after beating Liverpool 3-2.
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Fellow Premier League rivals Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur had already exited the competition, meaning United head into the latter stages of it as one of the favourites to lift the trophy, alongside City, at Wembley on February 26. The Reds entered the competition at the third round stage and dispatched of Aston Villa, winning 4-2 in a topsy-turvy tie at Old Trafford.
The win over Villa, which came just four days after Unai Emery's side had beaten the Reds 3-1 in the Premier League at Villa Park, saw Ten Hag name a strong starting line-up, albeit with the exception of one or two changes in some areas, such as in goal. But the likes of Diogo Dalot, Bruno Fernandes and Rashford all started.
Against Burnley, despite several members of the squad only reporting back to Carrington earlier in the week following their exits from the World Cup, the Dutchman, again, went with a stronger line-up than many had expected. It was widely anticipated that he would build his side around the crop of younger players that went to Spain during the World Cup break for a warm-weather training camp.
However, Ten Hag threw the likes of Tyrell Malacia, Fernandes, Casemiro, Eriksen and Rashford straight back into the team. It made for a strong and experienced XI, meaning it was clear that the former Ajax boss was determined to avoid a cup upset.
The aforementioned quintet all played their part, particularly Eriksen and Rashford, meaning Ten Hag's bold strategy, just days after getting four of the five aforementioned players back from World Cup duty, paid off. He is still yet to field what you would consider a 'weakened' team during his premiership.
He has taken every game seriously, both in the Europa League and Carabao Cup, even though there has often been scope for him to ring the changes and give his fringe players a taste of the action. The Carabao Cup, historically and still traditionally known as the League Cup, is often a competition used by Premier League managers to ring the changes and rest their senior figures for more important fixtures in the league or in Europe.
Ten Hag, though, takes every game seriously and evidently has aspirations of delivering a trophy in his maiden season as United manager. It is, although it can be tough for those on the outskirts of the first-team squad and the youngsters who are chomping at the bit for a taste of first-team action, a refreshing change, highlighting that the Dutchman is taking the competition seriously.
And it suggests that Ten Hag could be trying to emulate the success legendary United boss Sir Alex Ferguson enjoyed in the competition. The Scot won the trophy four times during his spell as manager and highlighted the importance of it ahead of United's last appearance in the final of this competition back in 2017 under Jose Mourinho.
"Winning a trophy at United is the most important thing," said Ferguson. "That's what the club's history is all about, and I looked upon the League Cup as an important trophy and was fortunate to win it four times.
"No matter what trophy you're going for, if you get to a final, you've got to win it, it's as simple as that."
Although United are not yet at the stage where they can talk about a trip to Wembley, they are only three games away from it, meaning Ten Hag is only going to continue to name a strong team in this competition. With four of the Premier League's traditional 'big six' already out, United are deservedly one of the favourites to go all the way.
Ten Hag is clearly determined to win a piece of silverware this season and end the club's trophy drought. The Carabao Cup might just represent his best chance.
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