5 things we learned from Manchester United v Southampton

Luck of the linesman?

This final could have been a completely different story, if, when Manolo Gabbiadini first buried the ball into the back of the net after 11 minutes, the linesman had CORRECTLY awarded the goal.

Instead, the assistant referee incorrectly waved his flag for offside, despite the Italian being onside in the six-yard area.

Team-mate Ryan Bertrand was the offside culprit, but the left-back played no influential role in the opener and The Saints should have been a goal to the good.

Given the final outcome of the match and their overall performance, if Gabbiadini’s opener stood, Southampton would have been favourites to lift their first-ever League Cup.

Instead; United rode their luck and will openly admit the linesman, and the woodwork from Oriol Romeu’s header, saved their blushes in what was an underwhelming performance from the eventual winners.