If United Win The EFL Cup Then The Europa League – The FA Cup Could Be Their Destiny

If United Win The EFL Cup Then The Europa League – The FA Cup Could Be Their Destiny

Manchester United are in the hat for the Europa League round of 16 having beaten French outfit St. Etienne 4-0 on aggregate to keep their hopes of a cup treble in Jose Mourinho’s first season at the club alive.

Mourinho’s side, who took a 3-0 lead into the clash in France last night, picked up a comfortable 1-0 away win at a canter, with Eric Bailly’s red card and an injury to Henrikh Mkhitaryan the only blots on the performance.

The win puts United successfully through two thirds of a crucial week in their cup runs, having beaten Blackburn Rovers in the fifth round of the FA Cup at the weekend before getting the job done on the continent on Wednesday night.


Having returned to Manchester the squad must now prepare for the most important of their three games this week, the EFL Cup final against Southampton on Sunday.

The Saints come into the game off the back of a 15 day break, having beaten Sunderland 4-0 in their last outing nearly a fortnight ago, meaning that Mourinho will have to put in a lot of work over the next few days to keep his squad fresh as they look to land their first major trophy of the season.

The former Chelsea boss is a big fan of the League Cup, having won three in his time at Stamford Bridge, and will be desperate to get one in the bank in his first term in charge at Old Trafford.

However, the Portuguese could be without one of his most in form men of recent weeks, summer signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who hobbled off minutes after scoring United’s only goal on Wednesday, looking to hold his hamstring.

Whilst losing someone of the quality of the former Borussia Dortmund star would hurt any side, this is where one of United’s biggest strength pays off, the depth of their squad.

A lot has been made of Mourinho’s treatment of the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford, however it could be Wembley on Sunday where this pays off.

Being able to call on a World Cup winner and attacking talents such as Rashford and Martial, who are all chomping at the bit to impress, is a privilege that few managers in the world have, and one which could cause Southampton problems as they look to pick up their first major trophy since 1976, when they beat United in the FA Cup final.

While a Premier League title is what all United fans will have wanted at the start of the season, a cup treble would be more than satisfactory for Mourinho’s maiden season, and it is such depth, which sets his side apart from the likes of Tottenham and Liverpool, that can ensure they go all the way to landing those trophies. Watch this space as in current form United could complete the hat-trick of Cup wins especially as they can lean on the likes of the talent of Bastian Schweinsteiger, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford to do the business!