Man United reaches EFL Cup final despite loss to Hull City on Mourinho's birthday

Nine months into his tenure as Manchester United manager, Jose Mourinho will have a chance to lift his first piece of real silverware for the Red Devils. He celebrated, sort of, his 54th birthday with a 2-1 semifinal loss to Hull City on Thursday, which nevertheless sees his side through to the final.

So on Feb. 26, United faces Southampton in the final of the EFL Cup – neé the League Cup – when Mourinho will hope to bag that trophy for the fourth time of his career after winning it three times with Chelsea.

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Because we’re not counting the Community Shield as a real trophy, even though United, having claimed last year’s FA Cup, won that by defeating Premier League champions Leicester City 2-1. That was merely the unofficial season opener, a festive occasion devoid of real meaning as it celebrates last year’s champions, not this year’s.

Not that United covered itself in glory in the semifinals return leg against Hull, mind you. Were it not for the 2-0 win in the home leg 16 days earlier, the whole thing would have been rather embarrassing. Because the 19th-place team in the Premier League would have taken the Red Devils to extra time, were it not for the Paul Pogba goal that mitigated the penalty by Tom Huddlestone and the tally from Oumar Niasse – newly liberated from his Everton purgatory and the scorer of his first goal in more than a year.

Just after the half hour, Marcos Rojo was called for pulling down Harry Maguire in the box on a corner.

Huddlestone converted the penalty impeccably.

At the other end of halftime, United felt like it had earned a penalty of its own after Chris Smalling was shoved over in the box. But it would have been soft – not unlike the one called on Rojo – and referee John Moss decided not to call it both ways.

The Red Devils got their insurance goal anyway. In the 66th minute, Zlatan Ibrahimovic did the preparatory work and fed Marcus Rashford. He, in turn, set up Pogba, whose toe-poke slipped through traffic and a pair of legs to see United into the final.

Niasse was rewarded for his toil in the 85th minute, when he got himself free on David Meyler’s cross from the backline for a tap-in, after beginning the attack himself. But it wouldn’t be enough.

It was United’s first loss since Nov. 3, a run of 17 games. And it was the first domestic defeat since the 4-0 humiliation in Mourinho’s homecoming at Chelsea on Oct. 23.

But all the same, Manchester United is through. And Mourinho will have the chance to equal Sir Alex Ferguson and Brian Clough’s record of four League/EFL Cup wins.

Leander Schaerlaeckens is a soccer columnist for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter @LeanderAlphabet.