LONDON: Manchester United crushed Barnsley 7-0 as troubled winger Antony scored his first goal this season and Marcus Rashford struck twice to extend his revival as the Old Trafford side roared into the last 16 of the League Cup on Tuesday.

United were joined in the fourth round by fellow Premier League sides Brentford, who beat third-tier Leyton Orient 3-1, and Crystal Palace after they edged Queen’s Park Rangers 2-1.

But top flight Fulham made unwanted history as they were knocked out in extraordinary fashion by second-tier Preston North End after the match ended 1-1 — the home side prevailing 16-15 in a 34-penalty shootout, the longest-ever in the competition.

United manager Erik Ten Hag has endured a rocky time since taking over in 2022 but enjoyed the biggest win of his reign.

England forward Rashford ended a six-month goal drought at the weekend when he scored against Southampton in the Premier League and needed only 16 minutes to strike against Barnsley.

His silky finish high into the net paved the way for United to demolish Barnsley who were no match for Ten Hag’s side.

Antony added the second from the penalty spot in the 35th minute and Alejandro Garnacho poked home United’s third in first-half stoppage time to put the hosts in complete control.

Garnacho side-footed his second from Rashford’s pass just after the restart and returned the compliment as Rashford made it 5-0. Christian Eriksen scored his first United goal for more than a year in the 81st minute, slotting in Bruno Fernandes’s cross.

Eriksen then fired in from the edge of the area to complete United’s biggest-ever League Cup win.

“It is the first time this team is playing together. Once we found our patterns we scored some great goals,” Ten Hag said. “We played with a lot of speed and were ruthless. The key was the right attitude and to be 100 percent concentrated. Last season was for everyone difficult, but we ended with the FA Cup. We hit our target and that is what we aim for this season, we want to progress.”

At Deepdale, it took 34 penalties in total before Preston beat Fulham.

At 15-15 in the shootout after a miss from each team, Fulham’s Timothy Castagne blazed over and Preston’s Ryan Ledson calmly netted the winner.

The previous League Cup shoot-out record was set in 2016 when Derby beat Carlisle 14-13.

The Premier League’s bottom two clubs met at Goodison Park and there was more woe for Everton as they bowed out on penalties to Southampton after a 1-1 draw.

Abdoulaye Doucoure put Everton ahead but Southampton levelled through Taylor Harwood-Bellis and the visitors won 6-5 in the shootout. Eleven penalties hit the net before Ashley Young saw his effort saved by Alex McCarthy.

Brentford were given an early scare when Brandon Cooper put Orient in front but Fabio Carvalho equalised in acrobatic fashion. Mikel Damsgaard headed Brentford in front and Christian Norgaard ensured progress for Thomas Frank’s team.

Eddie Nketiah scored his first goal for Palace since moving from Arsenal and Eberechi Eze struck the winner against his old club Queen’s Park Rangers to send the visitors through.

Sheffield Wednesday won 1-0 at Blackpool, while Championship (second-tier) side Stoke City needed penalties to get past fourth-tier Fleetwood Town 2-1 after being held to a 1-1 draw.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2024