Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag bucked a trend to make Carabao Cup win possible

It was at Selhurst Park, roughly 16 miles south of Wembley, where Erik ten Hag, for the very first time, got up close and personal with Manchester United.

Flanked by assistants Mitchell van der Gaag and Steve McClaren, as well as football director John Murtough, Ten Hag, fresh from flying into England from the Netherlands, watched United bring the curtain down on a wretched and forgettable campaign with a 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace from the stands. Ten Hag, at that point, must have been wondering what he was letting himself in for.

Fast forward nine months, however, and Ten Hag has completely transformed the club's fortunes, so much so that he has ended their six-year wait for a trophy in next to no time. Sunday's 2-0 win over Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley marked the club's first trophy win since Wayne Rooney held the Europa League crown aloft back in May 2017.

READ MORE: Pictures - United celebrate Carabao Cup victory

A firm header from Casemiro, who has made just as influential an impact as his manager in the dugout, and an own-goal from Sven Botman were enough to seal a routine win for United, leaving Ten Hag, at full-time, dancing on the Wembley turf with Lisandro Martinez and Antony, both of whom joined the Dutchman in swapping Amsterdam for Manchester last summer. Though United were not at their fluent best against the Magpies, perhaps still fatigued by the effort they had put in during Thursday night's win over Barcelona, they did more than enough to ensure that Old Trafford's trophy cabinet will welcome a new and long overdue addition.

Although goalkeeper David de Gea, who surpassed Peter Schmeichel's clean sheet record by chalking up his 16th shutout of the season against the Magpies,