Manchester United are safely through to the fourth round of the EFL Cup after beating Northampton Town 3-1 on Wednesday night.
Jose Mourinho's side managed to arrest a three-game losing streak by accounting for Rob Page's League One outfit at Sixfields Stadium in the third round of the league cup.
Michael Carrick, in his first start since the Community Shield, gave the Red Devils an early lead when he produced a delightful curling effort from outside the area in the 17th minute after Wayne Rooney's free-kick had rebounded into his path.
The Cobblers kept things relatively under wraps for the remainder of the first half and even managed to draw level on 42 minutes.
Daley Blind brought down Sam Hoskins in the area, allowing Alex Revell to step up to the spot, sending Sergio Romero the wrong way.
That would have sent some nerves through the United camp especially as Northampton had made life difficult at 1-1 until 67 minutes, before the Red Devils produced a moment of pure quality.
Ander Herrera received a ball from second-half sub Marcus Rashford before driving a low first-time effort beyond Adam Smith from the edge of the box to edge the visitors ahead.
Rashford, who had came off the bench on 55 minutes, then wrapped up proceedings in the 75th minute with a goal in his first league cup appearance.
Smith took way too long when attempting to gather Herrera's hopeful punt forward, inviting Rashford to steal in and win the ball before finding the back of the net.
The 18-year-old has now scored on debut in the Europa League, Premier League, Manchester derby, for the England senior team, the England U21 team and in the league cup.
The result eases some pressure on Mourinho and United but it is clear to see that things are still a little disjointed within the Red Devils camp as they look ahead to Saturday's Premier League meeting with Leicester City at Old Trafford.
The draw for the fourth round of the EFL Cup took place immediately after the Wednesday night matches and sees United up against crosstown rivals Manchester City at Old Trafford in the week commencing October 24.
2016/17 EFL Cup - third round
Northampton Town (L1): 1 (Alex Revell (PEN) 42')
Manchester United (PREM): 3 (Michael Carrick 17', Ander Herrera 68', Marcus Rashford 75')
Sixfields Stadium, Northampton - 7,798
