Erik ten Hag hails ‘perfect night’ as Man United beat Barnsley

MANCHESTER, England – Erik ten Hag called it a “perfect night” after Manchester United beat Barnsley 7-0 in the Carabao Cup.

Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Christian Eriksen each scored twice, while Antony scored from the penalty spot to give Ten Hag the biggest win of his tenure.

It was also United's biggest win since their 9-0 victory over Southampton in February 2021 under former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

“Not for me, but for the team, it was the perfect evening,” said Ten Hag afterwards. “I think we were able to achieve everything we set out to do. We won the next round, scored great goals, entertained the fans and worked on our game model. So we are satisfied.”

Ten Hag was able to rotate his squad against League One side Barnsley, making eight changes to the side that beat Southampton 3-0 on Saturday.

Rashford was one of three players to keep his place and his goal at the weekend was followed by two more.

It was the first time the English striker had scored more than one goal in a game since he scored twice in a 3-0 win over Leicester in February 2023.

“I know from my first season here that it is easier for the team when he scores a goal,” said Ten Hag. “If you have a player in the squad who is a guarantee for goals, that can make the difference. You can do a lot of things very well between the penalty areas, but football games are decided in the penalty area.”

United recovered from a 3-0 defeat to Liverpool by scoring ten goals and conceding none against Southampton and Barnsley.

“I wasn't devastated after Liverpool and I'm not celebrating now,” said Ten Hag. “It's a never-ending process. I know where I want to go, in which direction. I know we have a lot of pace and dynamism, we saw that today, and we have players who can dominate possession. We have to work even harder to get all phases of the game right.”