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Manchester United 3-2 Southampton: EFL Cup final highlights and recap

By Jake Walerius

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 26: Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Manchester United celebrates after scoring to make it 3-2 during the EFL Cup Final match between Manchester United and Southampton at Wembley Stadium on February 26, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 26: Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Manchester United celebrates after scoring to make it 3-2 during the EFL Cup Final match between Manchester United and Southampton at Wembley Stadium on February 26, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images) /
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Manchester United beat Southampton 3-2 in the EFL Cup final at Wembley on Sunday, Feb. 26. Here are all the highlights from the match.

The EFL Cup final was soccer at its cruelest. Southampton dominated Manchester United in the first half. The Saints midfield three of Oriol Romeu, Steven Davis and James Ward-Prowse were everywhere, while Dusan Tadic and Nathan Redmond picked up consistently dangerous positions ahead of them.

Claude Puel’s side seemed to have been rewarded for their dominance in the 11th minute, when new signing Manolo Gabbiadini tapped in Cedric Soares’ cross. But the Italian was incorrectly flagged for offside.

United then took the lead, after Romeu fouled Ander Herrera 30 yards out. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who had hardly touched the ball before then, curled the free-kick past Fraser Forster and into the bottom left corner.

The Saints, undeterred, continued to dominate, forcing the Red Devils to sit deep, attempting to pick scraps on the break. Jose Mourinho’s side took advantage of one of those scraps in the 28th minute, when Jesse Lingard converted from the top of the box after good play from Marcos Rojo on the left.

Southampton’s confidence finally seemed to take a hit but, with United beginning for the first time in the match to assert some control, they found a way back into the match. Gabbiadini converted a Ward-Prowse cross from almost the same position he was incorrectly called offside a half hour earlier.

The Saints started the second half as fast as they’d started the first, and were rewarded within three minutes, when Gabbiadini got his second of the match with an excellent volley on the turn.

The game appeared to be heading toward extra time, before Ibrahimovic found a winner in the 87th minute. It was a simple header in the end, which did little to reflect how much his side had struggled over the 90 minutes.

Related Story: 25 best club soccer teams of all time

Highlights

This was Mourinho’s first trophy as Manchester United manager, and his fourth win in the League Cup.

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