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Manchester United did enough to beat Luton in their Carabao Cup third round clash at Kenilworth Road, but it was another painstaking endeavor by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.
A Juan Mata penalty on the edge of the break and strong finishes from substitutes Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood secured a largely unspectacular 3-0 win.
FULL MATCH DETAILS
After falling in a home loss to Crystal Palace on Saturday, Solskjaer made 10 changes in Bedfordshire, although his starting lineup still boasted eight senior internationals.
Donny Van De Beek made his full debut in midfield, while goalkeeper Dean Henderson finally bowed to Manchester United, with Rashford required from the bench to sew victory.
A trip to Preston or Brighton awaits in the fourth round, but Solskjaer knows that his team needs to find a way from the end of last season if they want to stay in the quest for the long haul this time around.
Unsurprisingly, James Shea was the busiest of the goalkeepers in the early exchanges and did well to avoid a hit from Mata as the visitors saw a lot of the ball.
Luton enjoyed a couple of forays forward and Danny Hylton should have done better when he was picked in the area by former United youngster Ryan Tunnicliffe.
The lack of incisiveness on his side would have been a concern for Solskjaer, who had highlighted a late start to preseason training as a key reason for his weekend loss to Palace.
But, just when it looked like Luton would end the first half without incident, they conceded a penalty less than two minutes before half-time.
A United attack broke down and Brandon Williams picked up the ball, bursting into the area where George Moncur tripped him.
Mata stepped forward to send Shea the wrong way and give the visitors an advantage at halftime.
The visitors began to exert a period of pressure when Jesse Lingard saw a shot cleared from the line before Shea once again got it right to clear a Nemanja Matic drive and then keep Van De Beek out with his legs.
Solskjaer clearly felt he needed more to put an energetic Luton to sleep and introduced Bruno Fernandes, Greenwood and Rashford from the bench with 12 minutes to go.
Instead, it was Luton who would threaten next, Henderson made his first save of the night to deny Tom Lockyer, who then saw his follow-up effort cleared of the line.
But then the resources available to Solskjaer would prove the difference, as Rashford and Greenwood opened their accounts for the season in the later stages to seal a result that certainly flattered the visitors.
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