2009–10 Manchester United F.C. Season - League Cup

League Cup

As one of the seven Premier League sides involved in European competition in the 2009–10 season, Manchester United received a bye to the Third Round of the 2009–10 Football League Cup. The draw for the Third Round took place on 29 August 2009, and gave Manchester United a home tie against fellow Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers. The match was played at Old Trafford on 23 September 2009, and Alex Ferguson took the opportunity to give playing time to some of the club's fringe players, including back-up goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak, midfielder Darron Gibson and forwards Danny Welbeck and Federico Macheda, while derby hero Michael Owen was also given a position in the starting line-up. Ferguson also handed squad numbers to young Norwegian duo Joshua King and Magnus Eikrem. However, United were reduced to 10 men half-an-hour into the match as Fábio was sent off for a professional foul on Michael Kightly, who was through on goal; Ferguson responded by bringing Ritchie De Laet on in place of Macheda. Despite the numerical disadvantage, though, United went one-up in the 66th minute, as Welbeck played a one-two with Owen before firing past Wolves' goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann. With ten minutes left in the game, Ferguson gave Joshua King his professional debut, coming on in place of Welbeck. Although King had two opportunities to add to United's lead, the match finished at 1–0 and Manchester United progressed to the Fourth Round of the competition.

The draw for the Fourth Round was made on 26 September 2009, and handed Manchester United a trip to Oakwell to play against Barnsley, who are managed by former United striker Mark Robins. The match was played on 27 October 2009, and the lower-league opposition meant that Ferguson could afford to pick some of the less experienced members of his squad, while summer signing Gabriel Obertan was given his first senior start for the club. Danny Welbeck opened the scoring for United in the sixth minute, heading home Anderson's corner for the only goal of the first half. Michael Owen doubled United's lead with a coolly taken finish 14 minutes into the second half, shooting early past former Manchester United goalkeeper Luke Steele from just inside the penalty area after playing the ball through the defender's legs. Despite a controversial red card for Gary Neville – given more for his follow-through than the actual tackle on Adam Hammill – United held on for a 2–0 win that sent them into the last eight of the competition.

In the draw for the Fifth Round of the competition, held on 31 October 2009, United were given a home tie against Tottenham Hotspur, in a repeat of the 2009 final. The match was played on 1 December 2009. United won 2–0 after a brace from Darron Gibson in the first half. He drove his first goal low into the left side of the net after a pass from Anderson. His second goal came after he hit the ball first time after it becoming loose just outside the box, sending it too far into the right top corner for Heurelho Gomes to reach. Despite a few missed close chances from Dimitar Berbatov, Park Ji-Sung and Kiko Macheda, the score remained 2–0 for the remainder of the match.

The semi-final draw was made on 2 December 2009 and paired United with local rivals Manchester City. The two-legged tie was the first time in nearly six years that the two sides had met in a cup tie, and the first time in over 40 years that they had played in a semi-final. The first leg was scheduled to take place at the City of Manchester Stadium on 6 January 2010, but although the pitch was playable, snow in the north of England the previous day caused the Greater Manchester Police to advise the postponement of the match for the safety of travelling supporters. The first leg was then scheduled for 19 January 2010 – the original date for the second leg, which was played on 27 January.

United took the lead after 17 minutes of the first leg; Antonio Valencia was found in open space on the right wing and the Ecuadorian beat Craig Bellamy before putting in a low cross. Wayne Rooney reached the ball first, and although his shot was saved, the ball fell to Ryan Giggs, who was left with a simple finish from two yards out in the middle of the goal. City equalised shortly before half-time via a controversial penalty from Carlos Tévez; the penalty was awarded by referee Mike Dean for a pull on Bellamy by United right-back Rafael, but the Brazilian appeared to have let go of the City forward after the original foul had been committed outside the penalty area. City then took the lead half-way through the second half, Tévez again getting on the scoresheet after the United defence had failed to deal with a City corner. United pressed for an equaliser, but they were continually denied by reflex saves from City goalkeeper Shay Given, and City took a 2–1 lead into the second leg at Old Trafford.

United set the pace at the start of the second leg, but it was City who made the better chances. Nevertheless, the first half passed without a goal, and United took the lead after seven minutes of the second half; City won a corner, which Craig Bellamy went across to take, but the Welsh forward was struck by missiles thrown from the United crowd. When the corner was eventually taken, the ball was cleared to Wayne Rooney, who beat his marker with a sharp turn before hitting a long diagonal ball to Ryan Giggs on the right wing. The Welshman played the ball into the box, where neither Nani nor Michael Carrick were able to get shots away, but the ball broke to Paul Scholes on the edge of the penalty area and the veteran hit a low shot into the bottom corner of the net. Carrick doubled United's lead with 20 minutes left to play, passing the ball in off the far post after a lay-off from man-of-the-match Darren Fletcher, but Carlos Tévez drew City level on aggregate five minutes later as he stretched his leg around Rio Ferdinand to flick home Craig Bellamy's left-wing cross. With the scores level going into injury time, the tie was set for a further 30 minutes of play, but Giggs played a short corner before receiving the return ball and crossing into the six-yard box, where Wayne Rooney had stolen in to head past Shay Given. The goal secured a 3–1 win for United (4–3 on aggregate) and a place in the 2010 Football League Cup Final, their second League Cup final in a row and their third in five years.

In a repeat of the 1994 final, United's opponents in the final were Aston Villa. They beat Blackburn Rovers 7–4 on aggregate (including a 6–4 home win in the second leg) to reach their first League Cup final for 14 years and their first Wembley final since the 2000 FA Cup Final.

United won the final 2–1. James Milner's fifth minute penalty, awarded after Nemanja Vidić fouled Gabriel Agbonlahor, gave Aston Villa an early lead, but Michael Owen equalised seven minutes later after Richard Dunne gave the ball away. Park Ji-Sung hit the post late in the first half, but Wayne Rooney's header from Antonio Valencia's cross gave United the win. Moments after he scored what turned out to be the winning goal, Rooney also hit the post with another header from another Valencia cross. But that counted for nothing as United held on to win the first silverware of the season.