Manchester United 2-0 Newcastle United: Player ratings as Red Devils win Carabao Cup
Manchester United have won their first trophy under Erik ten Hag thanks to a 2-0 win over Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final.
First half goals from Casemiro and Marcus Rashford were enough for the Red Devils at Wembley Stadium, besting a Newcastle side who were competing in their first cup final this century.
The first half-decent chance of the game fell to the big man up top for Man Utd, Wout Weghorst. After holding off his marker, then controlling with his knee, the Weghorst was unable to really test Loris Karius in the Newcastle United goal with his subsequent strike - bobbling a half-volley into the third-choice goalkeeper's mid-riff.
At the other end, Allan Saint-Maximin had been threatening to conjure a chance for the Magpies throughout the opening exchanges, and he did just that on the 30th minute mark. The French wide player shimmied brilliantly past Diogo Dalot on the right hand side of the penalty before forcing David de Gea into a decent save at his near post.
Mere moments after that save, Man Utd took the lead.
The goal would come from a delightful set-piece delivery from Luke Shaw, who whipped the ball expertly onto the head of Casemiro, and the Brazilian made no mistake with his header - cannoning it into the corner of Karius' net.
10 minutes later it was 2-0.
And guess who scored? That's right, that man Marcus Rashford.
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The in-form forward latched onto a through ball from Weghorst on the left of the penalty area, before seeing his strike on goal deflect off of the foot of Sven Botman, over Karius, and into the middle of the net.
Before half-time Newcastle would spurn one glorious chance to reduce their arrears, as Dan Burn headed a Kieran Trippier cross just wide of the post from six-yards out when he really (really) should have scored.
After missing that chance, Man Utd went back up the other end and nearly added another in added time at the end of the half. After some neat play from Antony the ball was played up to Weghorst who was able to force Karius into a great save with a venomous long-range effort.
At the start of the second half Newcastle pressed forward with real intent but were largely unable to threatend David de Gea in goal. That was largely due to the work of Fred and Casemiro, who worked tirelessly to close down the Magpies' creative players when they sparingly found themselves in dangerous areas.
In pushing forward the Magpies began to leave some holes at the back and they were almost punished for this by Rashford in the 72nd minute. The England international. however, saw a strike from the edge of the area well saved by Karius.
Substitute Jacob Murphy came within a whisker of making it 2-1 in the 88th minute, with the substitute firing a Roberto Carlos style effort from fully 30-yards out which curled just wide of the post.
Man Utd player ratings
GK - David de Gea - 5/10 - He didn't really have to do much to be honest.
RB - Diogo Dalot - 4/10 - Booked early and was subbed off at half-time.
CB - Raphael Varane - 7/10 - Yet another commanding performance.
CB - Lisandro Martinez - 7/10 - Throws himself in front of the ball as if his life depends on it. Every single football team needs a Lisandro Martinez.
LB - Luke Shaw - 7/10 - His fantastic delivery set up the opening goal.
DM - Casemiro - 8/10 - A brilliant header to give his side the lead.
DM - Fred - 7/10 - Put in a proper shift in midfield.
RM - Antony - 7/10 - Worked incredibly hard and had the beating of Dan Burn whenever he pleased.
AM - Bruno Fernandes - 6/10 - Tidy in possession and a willing runner out of it.
LM - Marcus Rashford - 7/10 - Yes of course he scored. It's 2023 and it's Rashford. He always scores.
ST - Wout Weghorst - 8/10 - His best performance in a Man Utd shirt to date. His hold-up play and passing were both exceptional.
SUB - Aaron Wan Bissaka - 7/10 - Sured up Man Utd's right flank in the second half.
SUB - Marcel Sabitzer - 6/10 - Added some energy into Man Utd's midfield
SUB - Scott McTominay - N/A.
SUB - Jadon Sancho - N/A.
SUB - Harry Maguire - N/A.
Newcastle United player ratings
GK - Loris Karius - 6/10 - Could've done a bit better for the second goal. Made a few good saves after that.
RB - Kieran Trippier - 6/10 - He was okay on the right flank.
CB - Fabian Schar - 4/10 - A difficult first half up against the sheer physicality of Weghorst.
CB - Sven Botman - 3/10 - The second goal deflected off his foot.
LB - Dan Burn - 4/10 - Couldn't get near Antony.
CM - Sean Longstaff - 3/10 - Chased shadows in the first half and was subbed at half-time.
CM - Bruno Guimaraes - 7/10 - Newcastle's best player as per.
CM - Joelinton - 4/10 - Struggled against the quality in Man Utd's midfield.
RW - Miguel Almiron - 5/10 - Worked hard but just didn't provide enough quality on the ball.
ST - Callum Wilson - 4/10 - Couldn't find any space in behind.
LW - Allan Saint-Maximin - 6/10 - Bested Dalot in the first half, unable to get the same amount of joy up against Wan Bissaka in the second.
SUB - Alexander Isak - 3/10 - Brought on at half-time to add some quality to Newcastle's attack and, to put it bluntly, didn't do that.
SUB - Joe Willock - N/A.
SUB - Jacob Murphy - N/A.
SUB - Matt Ritchie - N/A.
