Who was United's Man of the Match at Wembley?

Sunday 26 February 2023 20:20

Manchester United's triumph over Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final was due to another magnificent team effort at Wembley, where Erik ten Hag deployed 16 players across the 90-plus minutes.

The boss has proved himself to be a master of man management and whether they started the game or came on as substitute during the brilliant 2-0 victory, all the Reds he sent into the fray were pulling for the common cause.

As ever in these situations, it seems unfair to single out one member of the squad but there was a clear winner when we asked you, the fans, to vote for your Man of the Match in the official poll on ManUtd.com and in the United App.

A team effort has won us the Carabao Cup! But who was our Man of the Match?poll

A team effort has won us the Carabao Cup! But who was our Man of the Match?

Our runaway victor was Casemiro, who collected a massive 65 per cent of the votes. The Brazilian opened the scoring in the 33rd minute when he beat the big men in Newcastle's back line to connect with Luke Shaw's free-kick and nod the ball past the Magpies's stand-in goalkeeper Loris Karius.

But there was, of course, much more to the midfielder's commanding performance than the vital breakthrough goal and the summer signing from Real Madrid played his enforcer's role to perfection throughout the entire match, bringing his vast experience of winning silverware to bear on the proceedings.
Casemiro's fellow South American, Lisandro Martinez, also gleaned a double-figure percentage in the poll as he claimed his second winner's medal of the season. The first, of course, was from the World Cup final when he was an unused substitute in Argentina's stunning win over France.

This time, Licha was a much more active participant and he completed the contest despite receiving medical treatment at one stage in the first half after sustaining a blow to the head in a challenge with Magpies centre-back Fabian Schar.
Completing the top three players in our Man of the Match poll was Marcus Rashford with seven per cent of the votes.

The forward's finish after latching on to Wout Weghorst's pass caused the Reds to go further in front, just six minutes after Casemiro's opener. 

But instead of it being registered as Rashford's 25th goal of a personally incredible campaign, the second strike of the final was chalked up as a Sven Botman own goal after the Dutch defender deflected the shot beyond Karius.

Congratulations to Casemiro for his Man of the Match award and, indeed, to the entire squad for winning the Carabao Cup.

EXCLUSIVE PRIZE DRAW

For your chance to win a 2022/23 United home shirt with Casemiro's name and number 18 printed on the back, please enter your details in our special online form.

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