It was at Selhurst Park, roughly 16 miles south of Wembley, where Erik ten Hag, for the very first time, got up close and personal with Manchester United.
Flanked by assistants Mitchell van der Gaag and Steve McClaren, as well as football director John Murtough, Ten Hag, fresh from flying into England from the Netherlands, watched United bring the curtain down on a wretched and forgettable campaign with a 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace from the stands. Ten Hag, at that point, must have been wondering what he was letting himself in for.
Fast forward nine months, however, and Ten Hag has completely transformed the club's fortunes, so much so that he has ended their six-year wait for a trophy in next to no time. Sunday's 2-0 win over Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley marked the club's first trophy win since Wayne Rooney held the Europa League crown aloft back in May 2017.
READ MORE: Pictures - United celebrate Carabao Cup victory
A firm header from Casemiro, who has made just as influential an impact as his manager in the dugout, and an own-goal from Sven Botman were enough to seal a routine win for United, leaving Ten Hag, at full-time, dancing on the Wembley turf with Lisandro Martinez and Antony, both of whom joined the Dutchman in swapping Amsterdam for Manchester last summer. Though United were not at their fluent best against the Magpies, perhaps still fatigued by the effort they had put in during Thursday night's win over Barcelona, they did more than enough to ensure that Old Trafford's trophy cabinet will welcome a new and long overdue addition.
Although goalkeeper David de Gea, who surpassed Peter Schmeichel's clean sheet record by chalking up his 16th shutout of the season against the Magpies, had a relatively comfortable afternoon between the sticks, United's defenders certainly earned their corn. Centre-backs Raphael Varane and Martinez were nothing short of outstanding, while half-time substitute Aaron Wan-Bissaka and opposite full-back Luke Shaw also played their parts.
Sunday's clean sheet at Wembley marked United's fifth in six Carabao Cup outings this season, meaning there can be no argument about whether or not they deserved to win the trophy. With the exception of conceding twice in their topsy-turvy third-round win over Aston Villa, United were defensively sound throughout their Carabao Cup adventure.
In a competition, certainly nowadays, that most managers use to rotate their squads and blood youngsters into the first-team environment, Ten Hag, along with beaten finalist Eddie Howe, is one of the few exceptions. The Dutchman refused, at any point, to use the Carabao Cup as a breeding ground for experimentation. He approached each and every game with a star-studded line-up.
Even when United, just four days after the World Cup final, were pitted against Championship leaders Burnley in the fourth round at Old Trafford, Ten Hag went with a strong and star-studded team, even though almost everyone expected it to have a much weakened look to it. Christian Eriksen, Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Casemiro all started that evening. Luke Shaw, Fred and Antony even stepped off the bench.
It was a similar tale in the quarter-final. Up against League One side Charlton Athletic, Ten Hag could have risked shuffling his pack and calling on some of his younger and more inexperienced players. Again, he took no chances. Diogo Dalot, Harry Maguire, Martinez, Fred and Antony all started. Rashford was needed off the bench to make sure they got over the line, as was Casemiro.
It was after those wins over Burnley and Charlton that it became clear Ten Hag was taking the Carabao Cup incredibly seriously. He saw it as an opportunity to end the club's trophy drought more than three months before the end of the season.
United, of course, have now achieved that, meaning they will take yet more confidence into their remaining games, with the club still in contention of winning the Premier League title, the FA Cup and the Europa League. While there is no doubt that United have made tremendous strides in a relatively short space of time under the charismatic Dutchman, both on and off the field, it is important to recognise just how his philosophy and determination to win every single game have led to the club ending their trophy drought at the first available opportunity of his premiership.
His reluctance to tinker and his obsession with winning made Sunday's triumph over Newcastle possible. In an era that has seen managers show a lack of respect towards cup competitions, Ten Hag has shown exactly why they should be taken seriously.
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