Three things we learned from Hull City v Manchester United

Hull could have been finalists

The Tigers could, and should, have advanced to the 2017 EFL Cup final – instead of United.

Yes, of course, The Red Devils won the overall tie 3-2 on aggregate. But, Thursday night’s 2-1 victory over Mourinho’s men would have left some Hull fans thinking, ‘What if..?’.

Manager Marco Silva made seven changes yesterday; handing starts to the likes of David Marshall, Josh Tymon, David Meyler and Shaun Maloney, whilst starting 20-year-old Jarrod Bowen up front, handing Oumar Niasse his debut and introducing fellow loanee Lazar Markovic off the bench.

In regards to the result, Hull did magnificently to arguably be the better team on the night and win the second leg 2-1.

But, what if Silva fielded his strongest XI? We’ll never know now. They only needed one goal to force extra-time.

And if they found another, they would be meeting Southampton in the League Cup final – for what would of been just their second domestic cup final in their 113-year history.

Yes, fending off relegation is Silva and Hull’s top priority this term, of course. However, the buzz of being in a cup final could have given The Tigers great optimism and momentum for the remainder of the 2016-17 season.

Opportunity wasted.