Jesse Lingard scored his first double for Manchester United as Jose Mourinho’s players delivered a satisfying response to their weekend humiliation against Huddersfield.
In a perfect pick-me-up for Tottenham’s arrival at Old Trafford on Saturday, the Carabao Cup holders comfortably reached this season’s quarter-finals in comfort with knockout specialist Lingard the star of the show.
The England winger produced terrific finishes in each half, the first with his left foot and the second via his head, for his biggest haul in a single game since hitting four for Birmingham City during a loan spell in 2013.
Jesse Lingard takes the lead for Manchester United after slotting into the bottom corner after a clever Marcus Rashford pass
Lingard celebrates opening United’s account on Tuesday night in the last-16 of the Carabao Cup
Lingard met Matteo Darmian’s cross from the right perfectly to send the ball past goalkeeper Kristoffer Nordfeldt
Darmian and Rashford join Lingard to celebrate United’s second goal of the evening at the Liberty Stadium
Nine of his 14 senior goals for United have come in cup competitions and more importantly, it lifted morale after being severely criticised last time out, not least by their manager who said: ‘I don’t even remember a friendly where our attitude was so poor.’
Mourinho has an interesting relationship with the League Cup in its different sponsored guises. With four trophies to his name, including last year’s win at Wembley against Southampton, he is the competition’s most successful manager alongside Brian Clough and Sir Alex Ferguson.
However, he questioned its usefulness earlier this season and said Premier League clubs could be ‘fresher’ for European games without it.
Following their Huddersfield disaster, perhaps United were glad of the distraction of a domestic cup tie on this occasion and Mourinho made fewer changes than Swansea having criticised his players’ desire at the weekend.
Six of his starters had featured in the John Smith’s Stadium debacle including £31million centre-half Victor Lindelof whose howler gifted Huddersfield’s second goal.
The Swede took his place in a reshaped three-man defence also featuring teenager Axel Tuanzebe against a Swansea team needing to exorcise demons of their own after losing at home to Leicester and above the relegation zone only on goal difference.
United made a fast start. Chris Smalling should have scored from Marcus Rashford’s corner after only 72 seconds but having beaten Alfie Mawson in the air, he headed wide. Jesse Lingard was then denied by the fingertips of Kristoffer Nordfeldt with a fierce strike from distance.
Swansea, who used the towering youngster Oli McBurnie as a lone target-man, caught breath to apply their first pressure which United’s stand-in goalkeeper Sergio Romero eased with a risky bit of dribbling inside his own box.
Without hitting top form, United did enough to deserve their lead after 21 minutes.
Central defender Chris Smalling goes up for a header during the second half as United search for a third goal
United youngster Scott McTominay goes down under the challenge of Swansea’s Dutch defender Mike van der Hoorn
Jordan Ayew manages to get himself into the Manchester United area before goalkeeper Joel Pereira gathers the ball
The goal was a class affair out of keeping with the pedestrian stuff that had gone before. Ander Herrera picked a pass from the middle of the pitch into Rashford’s feet and his first time flick released Lingard on goal.
The England winger is a cup specialist, most notably scoring a spectacular winner in the 2016 FA Cup Final, and he had little trouble running on and coolly despatching a low finish into the bottom right-hand corner.
Swansea’s response encouraged the home fans. Korean international Ki Sung-Yeung started to influence the game in the final third while Wayne Routledge’s pace tested Tuanzebe and forced Smalling into a last-ditch clearance as the ball came across the penalty area.
The home side suffered a blow, not least for their upcoming Premier League games, when Martin Olsson appeared to pull a muscle in front of the dug-out as he sprinted with Rashford for a loose ball. The Swede was quickly replaced to sympathetic applause for Kyle Naughton.
McTominay closes down Swansea defender Angel Rangel in his third appearance this season
Rashford takes the ball deep into the Swansea half as he tries to double the away side’s lead
Swansea manager Paul Clement shouts instructions to his players as United controlled the game early in the first half
Naughton’s first contribution was to pass straight to Herrera and he was fortunate a swift United counter ended with Scott McTominay firing high from Anthony Martial’s lay-back.
The second half began painfully for Martial who winced as he landed on Angel Rangel following an aerial duel. Rashford also fell the full force of a challenge of Sam Clucas as he broke forward, the Swansea midfielder following Rangel into referee Bobby Madley’s notebook.
United kept the back door shut with their extra centre-half but when Tuanzebe burst from his regular position, he did so with devastating effect after 59 minutes.
The 19-year-old showed an excellent turn of foot to leave a couple of Swansea stragglers behind him on a run into the opposition half. He then sprayed a pass to Matteo Darmian on the right-flank and when the Italian’s cross sailed over Rashford’s head, Lingard was positioned behind to send a terrific header past Nordfelt from 12 yards.
Swansea’s Martin Olsson manages to hold off full back Matteo Darmian during the early stages of the first half
Tammy Abraham, on loan from Chelsea, started on the bench ahead of Swansea’s last-16 Carabao Cup tie against United
As if to make Swansea feel even more depressed, Mourinho then sent on his big guns – literally and metephorically – Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic midway through the second half. One of those replaced, Herrera, got a congratulatory handshake from Mourinho, who hadn’t liked the Spaniard’s comment that United had lacked ‘passion’ on Saturday.
Tammy Abraham came on late for Swansea in an attempt to make things happen but apart from a brief increase in tempo, little happened and Mourinho was even afforded the luxury of sending on Luke Shaw as his final change, only the second appearance of the season for the left-back.
Romero maintained United’s clean sheet with an excellent reflex block to deny Leroy Fer in injury-time.
Marcus Rashford (left), Anthony Martial (centre) and Jesse Lingard all started for United away to Swansea on Tuesday
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho was hoping for a reaction after his side’s defeat at Huddersfield Town