Manchester United 2-0 Burnley: Marcus Rashford shines as Reds cruise into EFL Cup quarter-finals

The return of Manchester United saw goals from Christian Eriksen and Marcus Rashford make it a comfortable evening at Old Trafford in the EFL Cup against Burnley on Wednesday.

Erik ten Hag’s men were finally back after the winter World Cup in Qatar, and while it wasn’t a vintage performance from those in Red, goals in each half made it comfortable viewing (for the most part).

Martin Dubravka was the only one who tried injecting some fright into the supporters of the home side. A few mistakes throughout were close to being punished by the Championship outfit.

After a positive World Cup, Rashford continued where he left off on his return, with a fantastic goal to seal the victory in the second half.

United’s no.10 finished strongly into the bottom left corner after skipping between two defenders on the right-hand side of the penalty box.

That came after a first-half goal finished by Eriksen that was worked to perfection by Ten Hag’s men.

Bruno Fernandes, who will be unavailable in the next round of the competition after receiving a yellow card in the second half, found the overlapping Aaron Wan-Bissaka on the right flank with a superb cross-field pass.

His nickname, ‘the spider’, is often used as a term to describe his tackling ability, but in this case, it was what helped him wrap his foot around the ball in order to keep it in play and direct it toward the onrushing Eriksen.

United’s Danish midfielder found himself some space in the box and finished into the roof of the net in order to open the scoring. It was a well-worked goal that Ten Hag would’ve been happy with.

Ten Hag: Rashford is a constant threat

The United boss has been complimentary about his winger ever since he joined the club. Wednesday evening was no different.

Rashford received the Man of the Match award after scoring his ninth goal of the season.

“I think he was a constant threat,” Ten Hag told Sky Sports. “Playing on the backline, on the back four, he is so dangerous with his pace, dribbles, and out-ball.”

The United manager added: “There is definitely room for improvement, we have to work on that, but I am happy with the performance.”