After sending Barcelona packing in the Europa League on Thursday night, Manchester United will be dreaming of ending their six-year drought without a trophy when they face Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley this afternoon.
The Reds, who will face Real Betis in the last-16 of the Europa League as a reward for getting the better of La Liga's table-toppers, will be determined to continue their excellent run of form and scoop their first trophy of the Erik ten Hag era. Although Newcastle will have strong ambitions of ending their own dry spell without any silverware, United will have the bit between their teeth after their midweek heroics and will head into the clash underneath the iconic Wembley Arch as favourites.
United comfortably dispatched of Nottingham Forest at the semi-final stage to book their first Wembley visit since July 2020, winning 5-0 on aggregate. Their 3-0 win at the City Ground in the first-leg meant the tie was as good as over by the halfway stage. Train tickets to London have long since been booked.
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Although not many United supporters, when Wayne Rooney held the Europa League trophy aloft in Stockholm in May 2017, which marked their third trophy win of the 2016/17 campaign, would have envisioned ending their trophy drought six years later in the form of the Carabao Cup, it is a competition that the club deserves to have reached the final of this season. Right from the outset of their Carabao Cup adventure, Ten Hag has taken it seriously and has shown the competition the respect it deserves.
He has refused to use it as a breeding ground for young players to experience the thrill of first-team football for the first time, and nor has he used it as a competition to make changes on mass and rotate. Even when United were handed the relatively simple task of beating League One side Charlton Athletic at Old Trafford at the quarter-final stage, Ten Hag still named a strong and star-studded team.
The entire back-four had been to the World Cup and one member of it - Lisandro Martinez - had won it. Ten Hag took no chances.
In contrast, other elite-level Premier League managers used the competition this season as an opportunity to rotate their squads and make changes on mass. Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur had all been knocked out by the quarter-final stage.
Ten Hag, this season, has gone against the trend that has been set in this competition in recent years and it has resulted in him leading United to within one win of ending their wait for a trophy. It is an opportunity his strategy and approach deserves.
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 when they defeated Southampton 3-2 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."
Though there has been talk of the format of the League Cup being changed, amid suggestions that many Premier League clubs, especially those who compete in Europe, do not consider it as an important trophy worth fighting for, United should embrace it for what it is. It is a staple in English football and the prospect of winning silverware is one that ought to be grabbed with both hands.
Ten Hag's approach and team selections throughout United's journey to Wembley have proven that he buys into that thought process. He has treated every game seriously since walking through the door at Old Trafford and it has made a refreshing change to see a manager of one of the Premier League's traditional 'big six' treat the Carabao Cup with such respect.
His approach and respect for the competition means that he deserves to hold the trophy aloft on Sunday evening.
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