So much for Erik ten Hag’s belief that Manchester United are heading in the right direction. They instead veered out of the Carabao Cup, the defence of their first trophy in six years ending swiftly and ignominiously, as their season goes off the rails. Given their wretched form, this scarcely counted as a cup shock but United were shocking nonetheless. Newcastle did not advance into the quarter-finals as much as stormed into them.
The fans who saw their side beaten by the other United at Wembley in last season’s final chorused about a return to the national stadium. More often, however, they serenaded Ten Hag with chants of “sacked in the morning”. And if the Newcastle supporters are scarcely impartial and their predictions will be unfounded, it was nevertheless the sound of crisis enveloping Old Trafford.
