sport news Man United 2-0 Nottingham Forest (agg 5-0): Martial and Fred fire Red Devils to ... trends now

sport news Man United 2-0 Nottingham Forest (agg 5-0): Martial and Fred fire Red Devils to ... trends now
sport news Man United 2-0 Nottingham Forest (agg 5-0): Martial and Fred fire Red Devils to ... trends now

sport news Man United 2-0 Nottingham Forest (agg 5-0): Martial and Fred fire Red Devils to ... trends now

So it will be Manchester United versus Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley three weeks on Sunday, as if that scenario was ever in any serious doubt last night. A proper final between two clubs for whom lifting this trophy really would mean something.

Newcastle fans don’t need reminding that their club haven’t won a major domestic trophy in 68 years. For Manchester United, the drought is only six years, but that still feels far too long for a club of this size.

A trophy is not only long overdue for United but also hugely important in terms of validating the progress Erik ten Hag has made since he took over at Old Trafford in the summer.

This is by no means Ten Hag’s only shot at success, of course, even though it now clearly represents his best one after United completed the formalities of beating Nottingham Forest in a semi-final which was effectively decided last week when they won 3-0 at the City Ground. Two goals in four minutes from Anthony Martial and Fred did the job last night.

United are doing nicely in the FA Cup and will have every reason to get their hopes up in the Europa League if they can safely navigate a playoff against Barcelona later this month. The Premier League title looks beyond Ten Hag’s side at this point, but we’re only at the halfway stage.

Compare that to the situation here a year ago this week when United’s defeat to Middlesbrough on penalties in the FA Cup effectively ended any realistic hopes of a trophy as the season petered out under interim boss Ralf Rangnick.

For Forest, on the other hand, they can now focus on Premier League survival – starting with Sunday’s crucial game at home to Leeds – after signing Felipe, Keylor Navas and Jonjo Shelvey on deadline day.

None of them were eligible for this tie and manager Steve Cooper also lost Jesse Lingard before kick-off when the former United man was injured in the warm-up and had to be replaced by Emmanuel Dennis.

Despite the three-goal advantage, Ten Hag clearly didn’t feel that he could take too many risks and named a strong line-up with Jadon Sancho also returning to the squad for the first time since October.

‘The position is good but there's still a game to go so it’s 0-0 again. We need to focus on the process,’ said Ten Hag who had Marcel Sabitzer, his new loan signing from Bayern Munich, watching from the stands.

It took United 17 minutes to threaten for the first time in the teeming rain, and even then Alejandro Garnacho’s penalty appeal was half-hearted at best as he went over in the face of a challenge from Neco Williams.

The former Liverpool man certainly had his hands full, though, and when he stumbled shortly afterwards, Garnacho got free and fired in another cross that Wayne Hennessey smothered at his near post.

The Forest keeper was called into action again when Casemiro headed Luke Shaw’s free kick goalwards. It landed awkwardly in front of Hennessey and he was forced to hack clear under pressure from Wout Weghorst.

An outrageous piece of skill from Antony saw him trick his way past Scott McKenna and force a corner, even though the Forest defender claimed with some justification that the ball had already gone out. When Shaw’s set-piece was cleared as far as the

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