MANCHESTER, Nov 2: Manchester United’s season descended deeper into crisis on Wednesday after a 3-0 home loss against Newcastle ended its defense of the League Cup and heaped more pressure on manager Erik ten Hag.
Defeat in the round-of-16 game was United’s eighth loss in all competitions this season and the latest blow for English football’s most storied club.
“It is below the standards everyone expects from Manchester United. It is not good enough by far,” Ten Hag said. “We have to put it right. I take responsibility for it. It is my team and they are not performing. I have to share it with my players, but I am responsible.”
It is 10 years since United was last competing for club soccer’s biggest prizes when it won the Premier League title in former manager Alex Ferguson’s final season. The wait to return to its former glories looks as far away now as at any point since then, with its current form pointing toward another season of disappointment.
The League Cup may not be a priority for a club of United’s stature, but it provided Ten Hag’s finest moment in the job when in February he led the team to the trophy by beating Newcastle at Wembley Stadium and ended its six-year wait for silverware. That is a distant memory as United’s season continues to slide.
United suffered a 3-0 loss at home to Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday, and Saudi-backed Newcastle’s repeat of that scoreline raises further questions for Ten Hag.
The Dutch coach, was mocked by Newcastle’s fans throughout the game as they chanted that he would be fired in the morning. While there has been no suggestion Ten Hag’s position is under threat, United’s poor form is of growing concern.
Newcastle was too much of a challenge on Wednesday as first-half goals from substitute Miguel Almiron and Lewis Hall put the visitors in control by the break and Joe Willock completed the scoring after an hour.
By the time those players were called for in an attempt to turn the game around in the second half, Ten Hag had fielded around $720 million of talent.
It made little difference to the outcome.
Ten Hag made changes at halftime, notably taking off his captain Casemiro. But Newcastle extended its lead when Willock carried the ball to the edge of the area and swept a low shot past Onana.Newcastle now travels to Chelsea in the quarterfinals.
CHELSEA ADVANCE
Chelsea put its troubles in the league behind it with a 2-0 win against second division Blackburn.
Defeat against Brentford over the weekend left the London club in 11th place in the standings and facing a fight to challenge for Champions League qualification. But manager Mauricio Pochettino moved a step closer to his first trophy in charge as goals from Benoit Badiashile and Raheem Sterling secured the win against Blackburn at Stamford Bridge.
Everton is also finding joy in this competition. While it looks like being another league battle for survival for the Merseyside club, it saw off Burnley 3-0 at Goodison Park and now faces a home match against Fulham in the quarterfinals. Fulham secured its place in the last eight with a 3-1 win against second division Ipswich.
KLOPP’S CUP?
Darwin Nunez scored a 70th-minute winner as Liverpool won 2-1 at Bournemouth. Jurgen Klopp’s team won the competition in 2022 and is back in the hunt for more silverware after ending last season trophyless.Liverpool is the highest-ranked team left in the cup.
GUNNERS OUT
West Ham United knocked out Arsenal with a 3-1 victory thanks to goals from Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen and an own goal from defender Ben White at the London Stadium.
Martin Odegaard pulled one back in the 96th minute, but it was too little too late for the visitors.
UNDERDOGS
There will be a team from outside of the Premier League in the semifinals after third division Port Vale was drawn against second-tier Middlesbrough. (PTI)
