Manchester United secured a morale-boosting victory in the EFL Cup on Wednesday as they earned a 3-1 victory over Northampton Town.

United got off to a fast start in the tie as Wayne Rooney turned and fired straight at the goalkeeper with just two minutes on the clock. The England man had another chance just five minutes later but curled his effort wide from close range.

With the Red Devils dominating, the side took a deserved lead after 17-minutes as Michael Carrick fired home a Rooney rebound from the edge of the area.

Alex Revell fired a rare Northampton chance over the bar from range with 25-minutes played before Timothy Fosu-Mensah narrowly missed the target with a header just after the half-hour mark.

A poor challenge by Daley Blind gifted Northampton a penalty after 37 minutes. Revell duly stepped up to take the spot kick and converted in style as he send Sergio Romero the wrong way. The goal meant the scores were tied up at 1-1 at half-time.

The second period began with renewed aggression from United as they looked to raise the tempo. Carrick was at the heart of all that was good for the Red Devils.

With clear chances proving hard to come by Ander Herrera came close with a ranged effort for United around the hour mark before goalkeeper Adam Smith was forced into a smart punch to deny Zlatan Ibrahimovic a chance.

United regained the lead through Herrera after 67 minutes as the midfielder drilled home a fine finish from range to settle United nerves.

Eight minutes later it was Marcus Rashford’s turn as the youngster put the Red Devils 3-1 up with the easiest of finishes following a calamitous error at the back.

Northampton tried their best to get back in the game in the final quarter of an hour but proved unable to breach the United defence as the Red Devils closed out a 3-1 victory.