3-2 was the final score in the Carling Cup round of 16 match played at Old Trafford. Chicharitos goal puts United in through to the last eight of the Carling Cup.

It was a match that saved all the action for the second half, with a total of 5 goals coming in the second half. Bebe earned his first start and his first goal as he put United up 1-0 in the 56th minute. And only 4 minutes later Wolverhampton would find the equalizer.

Park would put United up 2-1 in the 70th only to have it canceled out 6 minutes later by Wolverhampton, it seemed like United would give up yet another lead, that is until Javier Hernandez was subbed on.

And it was just what United needed, becoming that spark the United needed.

In the 90th minute Carrick would find Hernandez with a through pass down the middle of the box. And as we’ve seen in the past couple of weeks, Hernandez only needs half a chance to convert, with a true gift for finding the back of the net, Chicharito cut one defender before finishing with his left!

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Kuszczak started in goal with W. Brown, Ferdinand, Smalling and Rafael as his back line. Ferdinand still struggling with the virus that kept him out of Sundays clash against Liverpool. Gibson, Park, and Anderson would control the midfield, with Anderson making his first competitive start since February. While Macheda, Owen and Hernandez would lead the front line. We would also finally have a chance to see Bebe, Manchester United’s controversial signing.

Before the match, rumors started to circulate that Sir Alex wasn’t even in England, but in Spain. Those rumors would later be confirmed, as Sir Alex went to Spain to watch Valencia, Uniteds next opponent in the Champions League.

Kuszczak would make two great saves once in the 10th minute and another in the 15th. But in the 19th Write would strike a brilliant ball to find the back of the net, top left corner, there was nothing Kuszczak could do about that one. United was sloppy and deserved to go a goal down.

The lead wouldn’t last long, just 4 minutes later Smalling would play a long ball to Gibson, who lets the ball bounce once before hitting it up and over the keeper from a very difficult angle. It is because of plays like these, Gibson has become a personal favorite of mine. He has a bright future and will only get better with time.

In the 36th minute we would see Park down the line with a center for Smalling who scores Uniteds second and records his first goal ever! Brilliant finish from the young defender.

Macheda would miss a golden opportunity after Hernandez puts in a super cross from the left, that the Italian sends over the bar

It was all United from there on out, as the halftime whistle blew it was United leading 2-1

4 minutes into the second half, Macheda would put in Owen for a one v one that Owen could not, should not, and would not miss for Uniteds 3rd goal of the match. At this point Scunthorpes defense was non-existent.

4 minutes after that Park would score Uniteds 4th of the match after a corner kick that was played to the far-post and headed back on to the path of Park. I’ve never been a fan of Park, but after this performance and the injury to Valencia we may see more of the Korean.

Park would again be involved as United scored their 5th goal in the 71st minute. Park was allowed to run for almost 30 yards untouched because the Scunthorpe defenders were too scared to challenge and get beat. Park would then cut into his right before taking a shot which was fumbled by keeper Murphy and it was Owen there to pick up the trash.

Finally after all the controversy and speculation and after a 4 goal lead we would finally see Bebe, who recently lost the big hair for a shorter hair dew. He would come on for Park, and would do absolutely nothing for the remaining 20 minutes of the match.

Scunthorpe would score a second in injury time, but by that time it was too late. United advance, while both Chelsea and Liverpool are knocked out by their lesser opponents.

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The Red Devils came into this second-leg semi-final carrying a deficit, on aggregate, after having been defeated at Eastlands 2-1, January 19.

As expected, United started the game looking for an early goal, pressing forward at all opportunities, but they were faced with a challenge as City sat back and looked for the quick counter attack.

The first half ended scoreless despite several opportunities from both sides.

The second half started in “reverse fashion”, with City coming out all-guns blazing and Micah Richards forcing a save from Van der Sar with a left-footed drive. Then, on 50 minutes, came the Craig Bellamy incident. City had earned a corner-kick, but when Bellamy went to take it, the fans began throwing things at him. The Welshman was ultimately not seriously injured by the coin that struck him soundly in the back of the head, but play was halted while order was restored. Van der Sar stepped in to shield the striker while cleaning up the debris, and glowering at the fans. The repercussions of this violence will undoubtedly be stiff financial penalties levied against the club, but the positive outcome is that the bottles that were hurled missed their mark and Bellamy was ultimately able to continue play.

In the 52nd minute, Giggs picked out Nani making a supporting run up the center. The Portuguese national worked his way into the box, but was stood-up by by the defense and the ball trickled slowly away from him. Carrick stepped in and poked the back toward Paul Scholes who buried the ball in the lower left corner. This brought the score to 2-2 on aggregate and while there would have still been Extra Time to play if the score held, Manchester would have avoided a penalty shootout because of the “away goal” rule.

United looked to avoid Extra Time, winning it outright, by making it 2-0 on 71 minutes (3-2 on aggregate). Michael Carrick latched on to a ball poked back by Fletcher just outside the six, and side-footed it into the bottom left.

Rooney, the top scorer on the team with 19 goals in 22 matches, missed a sitter when he put Patrice Evra’s low cross wide from close range, and it could have cost United dearly had they not ultimately gone on to win the match.

In the 76th minute, Tevez (who scored both of City’s goals in the first leg) pulled one back to level overall with an audacious flick as he spun around Ferdinand to send Bellamy’s cross into the bottom left. This gave City a precious away goal and meant extra time an penalties if the score held.

With nine minutes left, Carrick missed a great chance to put the cup tie to bed again, when he fired wide after the ball broke kindly to him near the penalty spot.

In stoppage time, Giggs picked out Rooney with a cross, who headed past Shay Given – rooted to his line – where the ball nestled into the left-hand side of the goal.

The Red Devils only had to hold the lead for about a minute and a half before the Full Time whistle blew, which they did.

United will now compete against Aston Villa in the final at Wembley Stadium on February 28.

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