*LONDON, Sept 18 —* Manchester United delivered a resounding 7-0 victory over Barnsley in the League Cup third round, with troubled winger Antony scoring his first goal of the season and Marcus Rashford netting twice to continue his resurgence.
While United dominated, Fulham made unwanted history, falling to second-tier Preston 16-15 in penalties after the tournament's longest shoot-out. United, currently sitting 10th in the Premier League after two losses in their first four games, faced no threat from their third-tier opponents at Old Trafford.
Rashford, Antony, and Alejandro Garnacho all scored before halftime, setting the stage for United’s second consecutive win following their Premier League triumph over Southampton. After the break, Rashford and Garnacho added two more goals, with Christian Eriksen scoring twice to cap off United’s biggest win since Erik ten Hag took charge in 2022.
“It’s the first time this team is playing together. Once we found our patterns, we scored some great goals,” Ten Hag remarked. He highlighted the team’s speed and ruthlessness, emphasizing the importance of attitude and concentration.
Despite promising to take the League Cup seriously, Ten Hag made eight changes to the lineup, giving Manuel Ugarte his first start since joining from Paris Saint-Germain. However, this didn’t hinder United's strong start in their quest to win the tournament for the second time in three seasons.
Rashford's impressive form continued, as he scored in the 16th minute, cutting inside to fire past Barnsley keeper Gaga Slonina. This marked the first time Rashford scored in consecutive games since March. Antony, making his first start this season, converted a penalty in the 35th minute after being fouled by Slonina, and Garnacho added a third just before halftime.
Garnacho struck again shortly after the break, sprinting onto Eriksen’s pass to score. Rashford added his second in the 58th minute, finishing off another assist from Garnacho. With Barnsley clearly outmatched, Eriksen rounded off the scoring with two late goals.
At Deepdale, Preston edged out Fulham after an exhausting shootout, which featured 34 penalties following a 1-1 draw. The shootout saw Fulham's Timothy Castagne miss, allowing Preston’s Ryan Ledson to score the decisive penalty, marking a new League Cup shootout record, surpassing the previous record of 14-13 set in 2016.
Meanwhile, Everton’s struggles continued as they lost to Southampton 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park. Sean Dyche's side, rooted to the bottom of the Premier League with four consecutive defeats, initially took the lead with a header from Abdoulaye Doucoure, only for Taylor Harwood-Bellis to equalize. Alex McCarthy’s crucial save against Ashley Young’s penalty secured the win for Southampton.
In other matches, Crystal Palace triumphed 2-1 at QPR, thanks to a goal from England winger Eberechi Eze, while Brentford overcame a shaky start against Leyton Orient to win 3-1, with Fabio Carvalho netting his first goal for the club.
