Cavani Stunner Sends Man Utd to Semi final of Carabao Cup

Cavani Stunner Sends Man Utd to Semi final of Carabao Cup

A brilliant late strike from Edinson Cavani earned Manchester United a Carabao Cup semi-final against rivals Manchester City as they knocked out Everton 2-0.

Cavani’s stunning curling effort from 20 yards ended the hosts’ resistance in front of 2,000 fans, just as the game looked set to head to penalties.

With Everton chasing the game, substitute Anthony Martial added a second in stoppage time as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer attempts to earn his first trophy as United boss.

Everton were lacklustre in the second half, after Richarlison went off injured, having promised much in the first period, with Gylfi Sigurdsson’s free-kick testing Dean Henderson.

Defeat for Carlo Ancelotti’s team ends a run of three successive wins which has lifted them to fourth in the Premier League table.

United continued their upsurge over the last month with a victory which means they have now won all nine of their domestic away games this season – a run which has seen them go third in the Premier League table with a game in hand on their rivals.

Despite making nine changes to the team which beat Leeds on Sunday after going 2-0 up inside three minutes, Solskjaer’s side began with a similar intensity but could not find a breakthrough against an Everton team whose defence has improved in recent games.

In keeping with their 3-1 at Goodison last month, Fernandes was at the heart of their endeavour and in Cavani, they had a striker with a keen eye for goal despite missing the last few games through injury.

Olsen, who nearly gifted the ball to Cavani when attempting a clearance, made up for that error with a fine double save to deny the Uruguayan, while Mason Greenwood went close with a header.

There were also chances for Paul Pogba and Fernandes from a free-kick but Olsen saved both efforts, and once Everton found their feet midway through the first half, United found it hard to break down their opponents.

With the game petering out in the second half, Solskjaer sent on Marcus Rashford and Martial in search of a goal, but neither appeared to provide a spark.

That was until Martial found space on the counter attack to feed Cavani, who cut inside Ben Godfrey and found the bottom corner with a rasping strike for his fourth of the season.

With Everton committing players forward to take the game to spot-kicks, they allowed United to break twice more with Fernandes hitting the post on one surge before Martial finished a slick move for his fourth of the season too.

Having slipped up in three cup semi-finals last season, Solskjaer said he was “desperate” for silverware this campaign, and his side are showing signs they could win a first trophy for the club since their 2017 Europa League triumph.

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