Northampton vs. Manchester United: Score, Reaction from EFL Cup 3rd-Round Match

Manchester United claimed their first win in four matches, beating Northampton Town 3-1 at the Sixfields Stadium to advance to the fourth round of the EFL Cup on Wednesday.

Michael Carrick opened the scoring with a sumptuous effort, but an Alex Revell penalty kick ensured the teams went in level at the break.

Ander Herrera's fine strike put United back in front in the second half, and substitute Marcus Rashford capitalised on a goalkeeper error to add a third.

United started brightly and forged two chances in the opening minutes, but both were squandered by Wayne Rooney, who started up front.

On the turn, he fired straight at goalkeeper Adam Smith from close range and then missed the target from eight yards out after inadvertently blocking a promising effort by Carrick, via Sky Sports Football:

As Match of the Day's Gary Lineker noted, Rooney should have done better:

The Cobblers gifted United an opportunity when Smith picked up a back pass, handing United a free-kick inside the area.

Rooney saw his effort blocked, but Carrick—who had enjoyed an excellent start to proceedings—pounced on the rebound and curled his effort into the back of the net from the edge of the box.

Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News was among those praising the veteran:

Rooney looked as though he had doubled the lead when he headed in Timothy Fosu-Mensah's rebound after the 18-year-old had rattled the crossbar with a header of his own, but the goal was chalked off for offside.

At the other end, Kenji Gorre had a pair of efforts as Northampton finished the half strongly. First, he tried his luck from the edge of the area but sent his strike wide of the target. His second was more threatening as he clipped the top of the bar following a neat team move.

The hosts equalised before half-time, though. Daley Blind fouled Sam Hoskins after United failed to clear their lines, and Revell dispatched the resulting spot-kick, as Sky Sports Football showed:

The Dutchman wasn't the only one at fault, with Marcos Rojo and Fosu-Mensah also to blame—the former, in particular, having a game to forget, per Sky Sports' Tom McDermott:

Early in the second half, Jak McCourt was fortunate to escape with a yellow card after scything down Memphis Depay from behind, while Red Devils boss Jose Mourinho threw on Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Rashford in a double substitution.

Herrera clipped the post from distance, but Northampton did not heed the warning—they failed to close down the Spaniard as he later raced onto Rashford's pullback and struck a low, venomous effort in from 20 yards out.

Rashford put the game to bed when he chased down a speculative punt up field and nicked the ball past the hesitant Smith, via Sky Sports Football:

Luckhurst noted a pattern with the Englishman:

Rashford, Herrera and Carrick staked their claims for a starting berth against Leicester City on Saturday, but Rooney and Rojo's failure to impress against League One opposition will be a concern for Mourinho.

Most importantly, though, United stopped the rot. The Foxes will likely provide a greater challenge than the Cobblers—even though Northampton were able to cause United some problems—but losing Wednesday's game would have been disastrous.

Post-Match Reaction

Per BBC Sport's Phil McNulty, United boss Mourinho said:

"

It was as difficult as I was expecting but we looked to be in control for the first 35 minutes and then we looked to be in control for the last 45. I think the team was in control from the beginning and the subs were just a contribution.

The game should be easier, we should have been playing against 10 men very early in the second half. Northampton fought and they tried to cause us problems which sometimes they did but it was a positive performance overall.

I don't like to individualise the players, I think it was fine, the midfield were in control. I think the performance was fine.

"

Meanwhile, Cobblers manager Rob Page reflected on their defeat: "When you get back into it at 1-1, you never know. I'm really proud of the players, we had to be disciplined. They've had a tough week by their standards, but we knew we had to be strong. When you give away soft goals you will get punished."