Raphael Varane’s words could come true after Manchester United Carabao Cup victory

Raphael Varane’s words about the start of a trophy-laden era could ring true after Manchester United’s victory in the Carabao Cup final.

Manchester United laid claim to their first domestic trophy in six years on Sunday afternoon, defeating Newcastle United by two goals to nil at Wembley stadium in the Carabao Cup.

Goals from Casemiro and Marcus Rashford were the pivotal strikes that earned Erik ten Hag his first trophy as Manchester United manager.

One huge part of the victory that seemed vital to the win was the experience of players such as Casemiro and Varane, who have now won 14 trophies together in their careers.

The pair, alongside others such as Lisandro Martinez, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and Luke Shaw, played a brilliant part in thwarting Newcastle’s second-half onslaught and seeing out their 2-0 lead until the final whistle.

Varane, speaking ahead of the fixture, explained that he believes that lifting the Carabao Cup could spark an era of United success in just the same way that a 2014 Copa Del Rey final victory sparked half a decade of complete dominance at Real Madrid.

“I was speaking with Sergio Ramos about it in Madrid, and when we start winning, we won a lot,” he explained. “(One trophy) changed not the mentality but the belief. When you win you start to think ‘OK, we did it, so now we can do it again’.”

This now could ring true at Manchester United – the players have a taste of winning as a squad for the first time, and this could spur them on to even more success.

“It doesn’t mean that when you aren’t winning you don’t want to win — but you do believe more that it’s possible. You need luck as well but when you are confident you bring the luck with you. It’s a positive cycle.”

Varane’s want to win trophies is clearly addictive. When one question suggested that he may not be as excited to play and potentially win a Carabao Cup final after all the incredible medal haul, he just smiled with amusement.

“A final is always a special game and at a big club like Manchester United it is even more important, so the motivation is the same,” he said. “If it’s a final, I want to win it, that’s the thing.”

And that is just what they did.

After Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Newcastle United, they will quickly turn their attention to the FA Cup, with West Ham visiting Old Trafford in a fifth-round tie on Wednesday evening.

With one domestic trophy in the bank this season, Erik ten Hag will no doubt be steering his squad towards the want for more trophies, and an FA Cup run could lead to just that.

Next weekend, United will take on Liverpool as Premier League action returns. 13 points currently separate the two sides, with United third in the table and Liverpool seventh.

If Manchester United can catch Manchester City and Arsenal at the top of the table, only time will tell. They currently sit six points off City in second having played a game less, and eight points off Arsenal at the top, with the same number of fixtures played.