Manchester United have advanced to the Carabao Cup final after defeating Nottingham Forest 2-0 at Old Trafford and 5-0 on aggregate.
Following a quick counter-attack, substitute Anthony Martial opened the scoring, before Fred doubled the lead after a great piece of build-up play to book the Reds a place at Wembley against Newcastle United on February 26.
United appeared to be in complete control and have now won 12 consecutive games at Old Trafford. Jadon Sancho made his United debut, coming off the bench to replace Antony to a standing ovation from the fans. The Reds walked out onto the Theatre of Dreams to a raucous cup semi-final atmosphere, which motivated United to control the game early, looking comfortable in possession, but we did not mount a significant attack until 10 minutes into the half.
Luke Shaw broke down the left flank quickly, but his cross towards Wout Weghorst was too high and went out of play. Five minutes later, Alejandro Garnacho made a tricky run into the area, twisting and turning past the Forest defence before appearing to be pushed by Neco Williams, but the referee immediately said no.
Shaw delivered a fantastic free-kick that Casemiro headed towards goal, but Wayne Hennessy was quick to stick a leg out and save the chance. As the score remained 0-0, Antony hammered in a fierce drive that cleared the bar. Forest had been deafeningly quiet until the final three minutes of the half. Brennan Johnson broke away down the right wing and fired a low cross towards Emmanuel Dennis, who had been the first to work Tom Heaton. The Nigerian forward appeared to have opened the scoring, but his effort was blocked by his own player, Sam Surridge, and Fred then made a crucial save to keep the game level.
United quickly broke away and had our best chance of the half when Casemiro’s floated pass found Weghorst’s head. The massive Dutch forward’s header, however, smashed the post and was cleared away. United began the second half similarly to the first, dominating possession but failing to create a big chance. When Scott McKenna brought down Weghorst, there were loud calls for a penalty, but the referee and VAR both ruled no penalty, much to the chagrin of the United fans in the Stretford End.
Garnacho, who appeared to be United’s main threat in the first half, came dangerously close to taking the lead. When he received the ball from Bruno Fernandes, he took on and beat Williams before striking the ball with his left foot, but Hennessey saved it. This would be the Argentina Under-20 international’s final appearance, as he, Weghorst, and Antony were all replaced by Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, and Sancho. And it was the two of them who were able to break down the Forest defence and secure a place for Erik ten Hag’s men at Wembley.
Martial was able to break away quickly thanks to Casemiro’s pass. McKenna blocked his pass to Rashford, but the ball fell back to the Frenchman, who converted the opportunity to give United the lead. Soon after, the lead was doubled thanks to Fred. The move was started by United’s no. 17, who picked out the pass to Martial, who then linked up with Sancho and Fernandes. The Portuguese midfielder’s cross found Rashford, who sent the ball back into the path of Fred, who just touched the ball into the net to make it 5-0 on aggregate.
Heaton made a great save to deny Danilo and keep Forest scoreless, with Surridge blazing the rebound over. Wembley Bound!!
