It was only Barnsley in the Carabao Cup, but this was more like it from Manchester United. Erik ten Hag’s side played with a swagger and confidence that deserted them for so much of last season, even in games like these.
So they should. Even allowing for two free transfers and three homegrown players, United’s starting line-up against a team lying seventh in League One was worth over £300million, with a wealth of talent on the bench.
It was one of those nights that have been all too rare for Ten Hag. Nights when he could rotate his squad, throw in a couple debutants, and sit back and enjoy watching a team play to the sum of its parts.
Marcus Rashford, operating as a centre-forward here, looked energised by his first goal in six months at Southampton on Saturday and added another two. So did Christian Eriksen and Alejandro Garnacho who was practically unstoppable and got a couple of assists.
Antony, who Ten Hag said was chomping at the bit to make his first start of the season, made the most of his opportunity with a performance brimming with energy.
Marcus Rashford (right) and Alejandro Garnacho ran riot in Man Utd’s win over Barnsley
Rashford was a constant threat all game and capitalised on Barnsley mistakes in the win
Rashford (left) celebrates with Garnacho after the two combined to score the first goal
Rashford showed some neat footwork to work himself some space before shooting to score
The United striker thumped the ball high into the side netting to give his side the lead
When he was brought down by Barnsley goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina in the 34th minute, only one player was going to take the penalty and the Brazilian duly converted to effectively end the game as a contest.
Greater challenges lie ahead. It’s Crystal Palace on Saturday at Selhurst Park, where Ten Hag almost lost his job after a 4-0 battering in May, and that will be an altogether different game.
But for now, at least, it feels as though the United manager has steadied the ship after a choppy start to the season with back-to-back wins.
Ten Hag did as he promised and rotated his squad which meant full debuts for new £50.5million signing Manuel Ugarte and Toby Collyer who played at left-back.
Antony got the start he wanted and goalkeeper Altay Bayindir made a second appearance since moving to Old Trafford a year ago. Not that he had much to do.
Casemiro returned alongside Ugarte to captain a team that, on paper at least, looked more than capable of doing the job and so it proved.
United put down a marker early on with Collyer making the first of two heavy fouls on Barry Cotter and Casemiro fouling Luca Connell.
Ugarte flexed his muscles by upending Vimal Yoganathan, although there was a scare towards the end of the first half when a challenge from Connell left the Uruguayan needing treatment on a bruised right foot and bloodied knee.
United were then awarded a penalty after Antony was brought down inside the Barnsley box
The Brazilian stepped up to take the penalty himself, dispatching it into the goal’s right side
Antony smashes the ball past Barnsley keeper Slonina to make it 2-0 to United
Garnacho made it 3-0 in first-half stoppage time as he prodded the ball into the net
The Argentine winger soaks in the adulation from the United fans after getting his first goal
It only took four minutes into the second half for Garnacho to get his second of the game
The 20-year-old calmly slots the ball past the on-rushing Barnsley goalkeeper after the break
Barnsley’s players cut dejected figures after conceding their fourth goal of the game
By then United were well in control after Rashford showed brilliant control to take down Garnacho’s 40-yard pass, dummy his way past Marc Roberts and finish emphatically in the 16th minute.
It was Rashford’s pass for Antony that led to Slonina thinking he could race out of his goal and beat the Brazilian to the ball. He couldn’t. Down went Antony and up he got to score from the spot.
Rashford was involved in the third as well in added time at the end of the first half. He tried to wriggle through in the Barnsley box but Connell poked the ball away from him and Garnacho reacted faster than Roberts and Joshua Earl to poke home.
The young Argentina winger struck again within three minutes of the restart, racing onto Eriksen’s throughball to steer the fourth past Slonina.
Garnacho turned creator for Rashford again in the 58th minute, sliding the ball through for his teammate to fire his second of the game.
Rashford got his second of the night after United won the ball back high up the pitch
Rashford coolly passes the ball past the goalkeeper and into the back of the net to make it 5-0
Christian Eriksen then got in on the act, scoring United’s sixth at Old Trafford
Eriksen wheels away in celebration after side-footing his shot into the Barnsley goal
Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes combined again with the Dane getting his brace
It was the cue for Ten Hag to summon four more internationals off the bench. Garnacho was denied the hat-trick his performance when he fired inches over, but Bruno Fernandes squared for Eriksen to score inside the near post and then set up the Dane for the seventh as well.
It’s by far the biggest win of Ten Hag’s time as United manager and one that will raise hopes he is moving in the right direction again – even though it was only Barnsley in the Carabao Cup.
