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Man United attempts to overcome trophy drought by reaching only its second final in the past six seasons.
As they pursue their first major trophy since 2017, Manchester United is in their first final since 2021 and only their second final in six seasons.
The Red Devils will play Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley on Sunday, February 26, after defeating Nottingham Forest 5-0 overall.
In a fitting twist, Newcastle’s last appearance in a major final was also against Manchester United when the pair met in the FA Cup final at the old Wembley way back in 1999 – what proved to be the second leg of the treble that season for Sir Alex Ferguson and his players.
Six years is an unacceptably long silverware drought for a club the magnitude of Manchester United, who last won a trophy when Jose Mourinho’s team won both the Europa League and the Carabao Cup in 2017.
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Since then, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s United has lost four semi-final matches in different competitions during the Norwegian’s three years in charge, as well as the 2021 Europa League final on penalties against Villarreal.
Erik ten Hag, the club’s current manager, joined from Ajax in May and has already transformed the club in just eight months.
After a humiliating loss at Brentford in only his second game as manager, the Dutchman rapidly gained the respect of his team for his deeds and has introduced the kind of identity and discipline that had been lacking for far too long.
In his five seasons with Ajax, Ten Hag won six titles. He also received the Rinus Michels Award, given annually to the best manager in Dutch football, three times for his efforts at Ajax and Utrecht.