Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Anthony Martial scored braces to help Manchester United thrash West Ham 4-1 as they secured a spot in the semi-finals of the EFL Cup on Wednesday.
Man Utd star man Zlatan Ibrahimovic opened the scoring for the Red Devils inside two minutes after getting on the end of an intelligent backheel pass before chipping the ball past Adrian.
Mourinho’s side looked confident and in brilliant shape right from the kick-off. They dominated the game with their quick tempo through the middle and down the wings. West Ham looked to sit back and defend in the opening half – with occasional counters but lacked the much needed precision on the final ball.
The Hammers struggled to cope up with United’s tempo, as the Red Devils pushed more men forward as they looked to increase their lead.
David De Gea’s blunder on goal gave West Ham the chance to come back into the game, as former Man Utd youngster Ashley Fletcher scored the much needed equaliser.
French star Dimitri Payet thumped in a long range effort which David De Gea failed to gather and Ashley Fletcher was right in the area to tap the ball home.
The second half was all about the Red Devils running riot with Martial doubling United’s lead just three minutes after restart as Mkhitaryan earned his second assist in the game.
The former Borussia Dortmund man cut the ball back to pick Martial, who thumped the ball into the top left corner.
The French striker had another chance to increase his tally when Rooney set him up through on goal but Adrian denied Martial’s effort.
However, after the hour mark the Frenchman made it 3-1 for United as he picked Valencia’s low cross before guiding it into the back of the net with a side footed effort.
Man Utd were delighted to see their veteran German midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger making his first appearance for the club this season in the 86th minute – and later playing a part in United’s fourth goal of the match.
During the fag end of the game, United clinched their fourth goal after an intelligent move from Ander Herrera in the box picked Zlatan, who comfortably tapped the ball home.
Deep into stoppage time United struck a fourth goal after trickery from Ander Herrera in the box saw him square it to Ibrahimovic who simply tapped the ball home.
Jose Mourinho watched Manchester United dump West Ham 4-1 to book their EFL Cup semi-final place from his “secret” Old Trafford bunker.
Mourinho said: “It’s a secret. But I was in contact with the bench and, to be honest, yesterday we worked really well in a way that everyone was prepared.”
“At half-time I could be face to face with the players and I trust my people, my assistants, to pass on the information that we need. I’m really happy with the players.”
“Playing beautiful, attacking football is something the fans like, but we need results.”
