Erik ten Hag celebrated a resounding victory as Manchester United defeated Barnsley 7-0 in the Carabao Cup, calling it a “perfect night.”
Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, and Christian Eriksen each scored two goals, with Antony converting a penalty to complete the scoreline.
This triumph marked Ten Hag’s biggest win since taking charge of United and was the club’s largest victory since their 9-0 thrashing of Southampton in February 2021 under former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
“Not for me but for the team this is the perfect night,” Ten Hag said afterwards. “I think we could do everything that we planned to do; how we win, next round, scored some great goals, entertained the fans, we worked on our game model so we are happy.”
Ten Hag took the opportunity to rotate his lineup for the Carabao Cup match against Barnsley, making eight changes from the side that defeated Southampton 3-0.
Marcus Rashford was one of the few to retain his spot, adding two goals to his tally after scoring at the weekend. This marked the first time the England forward scored multiple goals in a match since February 2023, when he netted twice in a 3-0 win over Leicester City.
“I know from my first season here that when he scores then, for the team, it’s more easy,” said Ten Hag. “When you have a player in your squad who is a guarantee for goals then it can make the difference.
You can do a lot of things very well between the boxes but football matches are decided in the box.”
United have bounced back from the 3-0 defeat to Liverpool by scoring 10 goals without conceding against Southampton and Barnsley.
“I was not devastated after Liverpool, and I am not celebrating now,” said Ten Hag. “It is a never-ending process. I know where I want to go, in which direction.
I know we have a lot of speed, dynamic, and we have seen this today and we have players capable of dominating possession. We have to work even harder to get all the stages of the game right.”