Manchester United ended six years of pain as they emerged winners of the Carabao Cup on Sunday after beating Newcastle United 2-0 at Wembley.
Both goals came in the first-half with the first coming from one of the contenders of Player of the Season in Casemiro from an inch-perfect Luke Shaw dead ball delivery.
The second ended up being awarded as an own goal from Sven Botman, but it was after some great work done by Wout Weghorst and Marcus Rashford.
It was not the greatest of games from the Red Devils but they were solid when it came down to it and the defence, led admirably by Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane, proved their mettle yet again.
While there have been false dawns before, this actually feels like a change is coming in the fortunes of the club.
It was a glorious day and it is in stark contrast to last season where the team performed dismally in all competitions and ended up breaking numerous unwanted records.
And now that the first piece of silverware has been confirmed, it is important to note that it was truly a team effort and that is thanks to Erik ten Hag.
Former interim manager Ralf Rangnick had suggested United needed an open-heart surgery. But the Dutch manager has shown the value of unifying a broken team and bringing in the right kind of mentality into the dressing room.
Casemiro and Martinez showed spirit and desire in abundance on the day while Weghorst worked tirelessly, traits much admired by the United boss.
Getting players who were down and out to come up and contribute — Aaron Wan-Bissaka, a second-half substitute, showed how he has transformed players.
The substitute completely nullified Newcastle’s forays down that flank and even had a shot on target during his 45 minute appearance.
Even players who did not get a chance in the final have proved themselves over the campaign, including the likes of Alejandro Garnacho and Facundo Pellistri.
Could United be well and truly back? Who knows but it is safe to say that after a prolonged period in the wilderness, the manager has been managed to unify the club with the fans and they have started dreaming once again. For now, that is great to witness,
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