Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Christian Eriksen all scored twice as the Old Trafford side roared into the last 16 of the League Cup with a 7-0 rout of third-tier Barnsley on Tuesday (Sept 17).

United were joined in the fourth round by fellow Premier League sides Brentford, who beat third-tier Leyton Orient 3-1, and Crystal Palace after they edged Queen’s Park Rangers 2-1.

Top flight Fulham were knocked out in extraordinary fashion by second-tier Preston North End after the match ended 1-1 — the home side prevailing 16-15 in a 34-penalty shootout, the longest-ever in the competition.

United manager Erik Ten Hag has endured a rocky time since taking over in 2022 but enjoyed the biggest win of his reign.

England forward Rashford ended a six-month goal drought at the weekend when he scored against Southampton in the Premier League and needed only 16 minutes to strike against Barnsley.

His silky finish high into the net paved the way for United to demolish Barnsley who were no match for Ten Hag’s side.

Antony added the second from the penalty spot in the 35th minute and Garnacho poked home United’s third in first-half stoppage time to put the hosts in complete control.

Garnacho side-footed his second from Rashford’s pass just after the restart and returned the compliment as Rashford made it 5-0. Eriksen scored his first United goal for more than a year in the 81st minute, slotting in Bruno Fernandes’s cross.

Eriksen then fired in from the edge of the area to complete United’s biggest-ever League Cup win and their biggest margin of victory since Ten Hag took charge in 2022.

United’s previous biggest wins under the Dutchman were 4-1 defeats of Real Betis and Chelsea.

“Football is football. Sometimes you have ups and sometimes downs, but we have to use these games to get momentum and consistency,” Rashford said.

Ten Hag added: “I thought the first goal from Marcus was really good, but so were the rest. We played with a lot of speed and were ruthless in front of goal. The key was the right attitude and to be 100 per cent concentrated.”