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Wednesday 30 October 2024 22:45
Manchester United advanced to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup with a entertaining victory over Leicester City at Old Trafford.
Our prize for the 5-2 triumph in M16 is a last-eight tie against Tottenham Hotspur away from home in December, which will be played on a date to be confirmed in the capital, when we’ll compete for a place in the semi-finals of the competition.
Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes largely stole the headlines on Wednesday, as the midfield pair grabbed a brace apiece, rivalling one another not only for our Man of the Match award, but goal of the night too.
Our no.18 opened the scoring with a sumptuous long-range strike after 16 minutes, while Fernandes rounded it off in the second half, effortlessly going past goalkeeper Danny Ward to smash home in front of the Stretford End.
And, although there were a number of other impressive performers on the night for the Reds, under the interim charge of Ruud van Nistelrooy, it was, indeed, Casemiro and Fernandes who dominated the voting in our Man of the Match poll.
Keep reading to find out who fans selected as their stand-out performer from a successful night at the Theatre of Dreams…
Casemiro proved to be the runaway winner of our poll with a 69 per cent share of the vote among fans casting their selection in the United App and on ManUtd.com.
It was perhaps no surprise given the Brazilian’s particular penchant for the spectacular this evening – evidenced with his wonderful 16th-minute strike, which kissed the underside of the crossbar on its way in to get the Old Trafford crowd on its feet.
The Brazilian was unfortunate to hit the post later in the half, when he headed against the woodwork, but responded in perfect fashion, immediately pouncing on a loose ball in the box to slam in his second and our fourth of the night.
He could have a third before the half-time break too, when he again nodded dangerously towards goal, but this time saw his header agonisingly inch past the post.
Our no.18 was stylish with his passing after the break as he dropped deeper, notably playing in Fernandes for one opportunity, when the Portuguese watched his team-mate’s pass over his shoulder, and shot just over with a well-struck volley.
The Brazilian has now scored an impressive seven goals for United in domestic cup competitions, bettering his tally of six in Premier League outings.
Also the goalscorer of a brace, Fernandes was second in the voting – earning the recognition of 21 per cent of fans participating in our poll.
Having cleverly dummied the ball for Casemiro’s opener in the first half, Fernandes perhaps caught the eye more in the second – albeit, having found the net for the first time this season in the opening 45 minutes, when his free-kick from 20 yards was helped in by a deflection.
His second goal of the night – the only one from either side in the second half – oozed class, when he took the ball around the goalkeeper with a quick turn on the ball to ensure he had the goal at his mercy, making no mistake with the finish.
The orchestrator for much of our positive play, Bruno looked at his best against the Foxes, with the Reds unfortunate not to extend our lead further as the half wore on.
While our fine attacking play came as a result of an impressive unit at the core of our frontline, it was to be expected that Casemiro and Fernandes were at the forefront of fans voting in our poll.
Congratulations to Casemiro on winning our award, and of course to the Reds, as our Carabao Cup campaign is set to run on for at least another round longer.
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Wednesday 30 October 2024 22:45
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