[Mhiz Rebecca]

Manchester United have booked their place in the final of
the EFL Cup despite falling to a 2-1 defeat at the hands
of Hull City in the second leg of their semi-final at the
KCOM Stadium this evening.
Goals from Tom Huddlestone and Oumar Niasse either
side of a Paul Pogba strike saw the Tigers pick up their
first win over United since 1974, but it wasn't enough to
overturn the 2-0 deficit from the first leg at Old Trafford
as Jose Mourinho 's side won 3-2 on aggregate.
United named a strong starting XI for the second leg,
with the likes of David de Gea , Paul Pogba and Zlatan
Ibrahimovic all included, but that failed to prevent the
visitors from putting in a lethargic first-half display.
content continues after the advert
Indeed, it was a slow start to the match from both sides
until Harry Maguire had the first half-chance when he
chested the ball down inside the area following a corner,
only to balloon his resulting volley a long way over the
crossbar.
De Gea was called into action for the first time two
minutes later after Phil Jones had conceded a free kick
in a dangerous area, but Sam Clucas's powerful strike
was straight at the keeper, who punched the effort away.
United's threat at the other end was limited to a long-
range Marcos Rojo strike which deflected narrowly wide
as they went in search of a killer third goal in the tie, but
it continued to be Hull who looked the most likely to
open the scoring on the night.
The Tigers almost did exactly that in the 26th minute
when Tom Huddlestone's hooked ball into the box
caught the United defence out and saw Michael Dawson
collect the ball in the area, but Chris Smalling made a
crucial last-ditch effort before Oumar Niasse stung the
palms of De Gea with a follow-up effort.
Hull kept the pressure on United with a Shaun Maloney
free kick that flashed a few yards over the crossbar
before finally breaking the deadlock with 10 minutes
remaining in the first half.
The opener came from the spot after Jonathan Moss
controversially adjudged Rojo to have tugged the shirt of
Maguire from a corner, allowing Huddlestone to step up
and bury his inch-perfect penalty into the bottom corner.
United almost responded immediately with their only real
chance of the opening 45 minutes when Ibrahimovic was
allowed to carry the ball a long way before looking to
pass it into the bottom corner from 20 yards, but David
Marshall got down well to turn the ball around the post.
The visitors did improve in the second half, but despite
their increased pressure they struggled to create clear
chances as Hull kept themselves in the tie.
content continues after the advert
A Smalling penalty claim was waved away by Moss to
the chagrin of Jose Mourinho, but the United manager's
mood was eventually improved when his side levelled
things up on the night with less than 25 minutes
remaining.
The equaliser came from nothing as Huddlestone's
attempts to track Marcus Rashford down the left channel
only saw him divert the ball into a dangerous area, and
Pogba reacted quickest to poke the ball into the bottom
corner.
Hull's hopes of becoming just the second team in
League Cup history to overturn a semi-final deficit of two
goals or more suddenly seemed a long way away, and
United almost sealed their place at Wembley once and for
all with 17 minutes remaining when Rojo leap highest
inside the box to nod Jesse Lingard 's corner against the
crossbar.
The Tigers refused to give in, though, and debutant
Lazar Markovic blazed one decent opening well over
before Abel Hernandez saw his effort deflected behind
for a corner by an important Jones block.
Marco Silva's side came even closer to giving themselves
a late lifeline from the resulting corner, but Niasse was
denied his first goal in English football by the woodwork
when his stooping header came back off the crossbar.
The former Everton striker would have better luck with
five minutes remaining when he cut the aggregate deficit
back to just one goal with a simple finish at the back
post after David Meyler had turned Markovic's diagonal
ball back across the six-yard box.
There was to be no fairytale comeback for the home
side, though, as United held out to book their place in
the final at Wembley on February 26, where they will
meet Southampton.
Despite reaching the final, United see their 17-match
unbeaten streak in all competitions come to an end,
falling to their first defeat since November and their first
loss at the hands of Hull in their last 14 meetings.
The Tigers, meanwhile, maintain their 100% home record
under Silva having won three from three at the KCOM
Stadium since his arrival.