Why Manchester United’s 7-0 win over Barnsley might signify something

How much do you read into a win in the third round of the Carabao Cup at home to an opponent who sits 41 places below you in the league, an opponent who had already lost to your under-21s in his own back yard this season? Not very much, probably.

Not beyond the result and scoreline, at least. Because while victory of any sort less than that would be unacceptable, victories of more than a bog-standard two or three-goal victory can have their benefits, especially if, like Manchester United, you don’t mete out a proper thrashing all too often.

That this 7-0 win over third-tier Barnsley was the biggest of Erik ten Hag’s time in charge really shouldn’t come as much of a shock. That Ten Hag’s previous biggest victory was by only a three-goal margin should.

Recall the 4-1 wins over Real Betis and Chelsea during his first year at the helm? Good, solid performances but not merciless, unrelenting eviscerations of the opposition. Those weren’t nights when United were totally and utterly dominant. There haven’t been many of those at all, in truth.

That’s a far cry from Ten Hag’s predecessor as permanent manager, and you could certainly make a coherent case that some of the more swashbuckling elements of United’s play under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer have faded over the past two years. The statistics bear that out.

Barnsley’s Struggles: A Misstep or a Reality Check?

While his two full seasons in the dugout Solskjaer presided over brought 233 goals in all competitions, Ten Hag’s brought 196, with Ten Hag overseeing eight fewer games.

United’s biggest win since the 9-0 at Southampton in February 2021 was in this game, and with hindsight, Solskjaer’s side weren’t at a much higher level than that of Ten Hag’s on this afternoon.

It marked the first time United have scored five or more under the Dutchman, having found that sort of total 10 times under Solskjaer, including in his very first game.

Solskjaer was also at Old Trafford the last time United triumphed by a 7-0 scoreline — against Barnsley, amusingly, with the Norwegian masterminding three in October 1997. But how about the last time United lost 7-0? Nobody needs a reminder of where that was, who it came against, and whose watch it was on.

There have been a few heavy defeats under Ten Hag, but few thumping wins. Which is precisely why, though this was not a night that will define United’s season, it was the type of game and win they have long needed.

This applied on both an individual and collective level. It was the first time Marcus Rashford had scored twice in a single game since the 3-0 win over Leicester City last February, as such outstanding form through the middle part of that season reached its peak.

A Dominant Display:

There were flashes of the 2022-23 Rashford across an otherwise miserable afternoon against Barnsley-nimble feet, agile shifts of balance to scavenge room from defenders. And even the head-pointing goal celebration returned after he scored his first.

It’s still too early to write off three goals in two games against Southampton and Barnsley as a return to his best, but Rashford is famously a form player and this favourable pair of fixtures may have given him a kick-start that he can sustain.

Another who deserved a good night’s rest was Antony, whose game would not have been good enough to retain him in the side but at least went his first start of the season without scoring an own goal as he broke his duck.

And so, with Casemiro’s intervention, and Rashford now on the pitch, he was permitted to take the first-half penalty he won. It was still only 1-0 at that stage, with only 35 minutes gone, but even at that stage the pattern of the game suggested United would not be short on scoring opportunities.

And gives each other the chance to score a goal like the penalty that Antony needs to go through and get some confidence, Ten Hag has observed. They are along with each other, they are together, he said.

There was Alejandro Garnacho, making just his second start of the campaign. Ten Hag’s use of the 20-year-old has been striking so far, given that he played him from the off in 38 consecutive games between November and the end of last season.

That is part of why Garnacho has had such a long summer at the Copa America and international duties with Argentina since, but with his manager using him more sparingly, he has looked sharper and more explosive, and has also begun to exhibit different sides to his game.

Tactical Evolution Under Ten Hag: What Has Changed?

That victory means all his fit and available front three options have now scored this season, and, even before Rasmus Hojlund fully recovers from a hamstring injury, there is set to be some debate over which combination is United’s best.

“There will be rotation,” Ten Hag said. “The conclusion from all of you is not right, that when I pick an XI that I drop a player. I pick a starting XI because I know I have to rotate. We have more than 11 players who can be in the line-up of any match in this moment.”

A team that has struggled to create with the attack quickly finds itself overstocked at the top, which has scored double digits in its last two contests combined. There are enough caveats that maybe it proves to be little more than a short-term morale spiff, but United needed this reminder they can win-and win big.