Manchester United registered their first win of the 2020-21 season as they defeated Championship side Luton Town 3-0 in the third roumd of the League Cup on Tuesday. Juan Mata, Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood were on the scoresheet.
In what was the Red Devils’ first encounter with Luton since 1992, United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer handed full debuts to summer-signing Donny Van De Beek and goalkeeper Dean Henderson.
United went ahead in the 44th minute when Luton Town midfielder George Moncur fouled Brandon Williams inside his area and conceded a penalty. Mata then converted the spot kick from the 12 yards with ease.
Henderson, who is looking to make it to the United first team ahead of an error-prone David De Gea, made an impressive debut. He made his only save of the match at the fag end of the first half to ensure United continued to lead. Henderson denied Tom Lockyer as he saved his header at the far post.
Rashford, who came off the bench, scored late in the 88th minute to make it 2-0 in United’s favour before young sensation Greenwood hammered the final nail in Luton’s coffin in the fifth minute of the stoppage time.
“Going through is the big thing. There are some positives, the keeper does his job and we scored some nice goals towards the end,” said Solskjaer, whose side will travel to Brighton or Preston in the fourth round.
Henderson tweeted: “I dreamt about this my whole life. Unbelievable feeling to make my debut for the club I love.”
Meanwhile, in another League Cup match, West Ham defeated Hull City 5-1. However, the match made headlines for a different reason. Two West Ham players along with their manager David Moyes had tested positive for coronavirus ahead of the match. But despite that the fixture continued.