Stunning Finish
Man United advances to Carabao Cup Semis with 2-0 win over Everton
Table of Contents
Late Heroics
Manchester United moved a step closer to their first trophy in four seasons following a dramatic 2-0 win over Everton.
Edinson Cavani’s first goal in an English cup tie was enough to send the Reds into the League Cup semi-finals for a second straight season.
Game Highlights
In the first 15 minutes, United had a number of opportunities largely due to some sloppy play by the home side.
Cavani looked the most dangerous early on going offside in the eighth minute after some nice play in the box between Paul Pogba and Donny van de Beek.
More jitters from Ancelotti’s team four minutes later nearly gave away the opening goal.
The Toffees backup keeper Robin Olsen almost lost the ball in his feet but recovered to deny the Cavani.
A great ball in the box from Alex Telles in the 25th minute was well met by Mason Greenwood whose header went just wide.
It took the Toffees nearly a half-hour to get into the game
Dominic Calvert-Lewin had a good header off a corner in the 35th minute that was straight at Dean Henderson.
The Toffees first chance came off a free-kick by Sigurdsson in the 36th minute.
He bent his shot over the United wall but Henderson did well to get across and tip it over the bar.
The second-half was a much more even performance with both sides not yielding much.
Cavani had an early chance in the 49th minute but his shot went wide
A great counter by Everton nearly produced the opening goal.
Seamus Coleman made a great run just past the hour mark, feeding Calvert-Lewin in the box but he was offside.
In the 88th minute, Cavani broke the deadlock.
Gathering the ball on the edge of the box his strike screamed into the top corner to put the Reds in front.
On the last kick of the match, Martial finished off the game slotting home a feed from Marcus Rashford for his fourth goal of the season.
Man of the Match
Early on in his Manchester United career Edinson Cavani seems to relish playing at Everton.
The Reds striker was the hero in tonight’s quarterfinal scoring the game-winner.
His brilliant 88th-minute strike gave his team a well-deserved spot in the League Cup semis.
Everton fans will say he was lucky to be on the field to score that goal.
Cavani arguably could have been sent off following a second-half clash with Yerry Mina.
That aside El Matador made life miserable for Everton’s backline throughout this match missing numerous chances in the first half.
The 33-year-old now has four goals in all competitions for his new club.
His first goal with his new team came in a 3-1 win at Goodison Park in the Premier League.
Final Four
Making it to the semi-finals of this tournament is definitely not foreign territory for United.
In fact, this will mark the 16th time they’ve made it to this stage.
Since last season United’s now made it to the semi-finals of four domestic Cups (last season’s FA Cup and Europa League, plus the last two League Cup’s).
The team will hope to move past this stage for the first time since their Europa League triumph in 2016/17.
Good Times
Man United’s success at Goodison Park continues.
The clubs won 17 EPL games against the Toffee’s and are now two for two at Everton in this competition.
The 2,000 fans in the stadium didn’t seem to have much impact on the game as their team looked very uptight through large portions of this one.
Three for Three
Dean Henderson maintains his 100% record for Man United in this competition winning his third match and earning another clean sheet.
United’s backup has yet to concede in this competition having faced three shots tonight.
He’s faced only seven shots total in three games but he’s been there to make a save when called upon.
Renewing a Rivalry
In the next round, Man United has the chance to end Manchester City’s chances of a record fourth straight League Cup.
Expect to see a much more spirited affair than the dull 0-0 derby we saw at Old Trafford earlier this season.
The Reds will have revenge on their minds after the Blues knocked them out of last season’s semi-final 3-2 on aggregate.
This season though will be a one-game winner-take-all format.
The semi-final game takes place on either January 5 or 6 from Old Trafford.
Tottenham battles Brentford in the other semi-final.
Next Game
Before the club’s next Carabao Cup tie the Reds are in action this weekend in the Premier League.
Solskjaer’s team looks to extend its league unbeaten run to eight when they travel to King Power Stadium to face Leicester City.
Game time on Saturday is 12:30 pm. (JSL).
