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MANCHESTER, England — Manchester United booked their place in the quarterfinals of the Carabao Cup with a 2-0 win over Burnley on Wednesday night at Old Trafford in their first game back following the break for the World Cup.
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Christian Eriksen and Marcus Rashford, who both started despite being involved with their countries in Qatar, got the goals as coach Erik ten Hag’s team cruised past Vincent Kompany’s side and into the next round. Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro were also in the team just days after returning from the Middle East as United’s domestic campaign resumed with a comfortable victory.
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Rapid reaction
1. Man United avoid slip-up as World Cup stars deliver upon return
United were expected to beat Burnley on Wednesday, but it was a more complicated tie than it looked.
Burnley are top of the Championship and returned from their World Cup break on Dec. 11 — just a day after the quarterfinals in Qatar. Kompany might have expected his team to benefit from some extra match sharpness, but despite some good moments, it wasn’t enough to bridge the gap in quality.
United haven’t won a trophy since 2017 and Ten Hag is clearly keen to win something in his first season at Old Trafford, picking Fernandes, Casemiro and Rashford from the start despite all three reaching the World Cup quarterfinals. Fernandes and Rashford were knocked out with Portugal and England, respectively, just 11 days ago.
Ten Hag’s decision to pick a strong team — supplemented with non-World Cup players like Victor Lindelof, Anthony Martial and Scott McTominay — paid off and United are into the Carabao Cup quarterfinals.
Fernandes, in particular, continued his good form from Qatar with a clipped pass to Aaron Wan-Bissaka at the back post in the build up to Eriksen’s goal. It would have been…
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