Manchester United booked a 1999 Wembley rematch with Newcastle with ease in the second leg of their EFL Cup semi-final with Nottingham Forest.
Second-half goals from Anthony Martial and Fred ensured victory for Erik ten Hague’s side on the night, although a place in the final was virtually secured thanks to their 3-0 first-leg victory at the City Ground.
Martial marked his return from a four-match injury absence with his sixth goal of the season, when a pass for Marcus Rashford deflected back to the French striker 17 minutes from time.
Within 180 seconds, United had another chance when Bruno Fernandes set out Rashford with a superb curling crossfield pass, which the Englishman turned into the path of Fred, who with his knee barely missed a yard. threw the ball into an empty net.
New signing Marcel Sabitzer watched from an executive box as United cruised to their first trophy victory since 2017.
There was also a return to action for Jadon Sancho, who has not featured since October when Ten Hague put the England winger on an individual training program in an attempt to regain his form amid physical and mental problems.
United on trophy hunt
Although their barren run does not compare to Newcastle’s, United know that if they fail to win a trophy this season, it will be the club’s longest run without silverware since nine years of European Cup triumph in 1968. It will be a long spell.
Referring to the demands made of him in his program notes, manager ten Hague said: “The aim of this club is always to chase honours.”
For the next three months at least, they will do so without Christian Eriksen, whose ankle injury has left United without their most creative force.
The return of Martial and Sancho is therefore well timed.
Ten Hague sees Martial as his best number nine, with his fluidity and movement capable of causing problems for any defence.
Sancho’s direct running skills are well-known, even if not seen as much since he returned to England from Borussia Dortmund in 2021.
United beat Newcastle in the second leg of their historic treble in the FA Cup final 24 years ago.
They will be well aware that their task will not be easy this time as they have to entertain Barcelona in the Europa League three days before the EFL Cup final on February 26.
Forest fans enjoy night out despite defeat
Although Forest were never likely to save the situation, they had a good evening after quite a while, even if their optimistic pre-match chant of “We’re winning 4-0” was too much. was
Jess Lingard’s hopes of playing against his former club were dashed when he was injured in the warm-up.
His substitute, Emmanuel Dennis, might have put Forest ahead before half-time with a shot that wouldn’t have hit Sam Surridge, who tried and failed to get out of the way.
Danilo drew an acrobatic save from Tom Heaton before the end, with Serge putting the goal at his mercy.
With Brazilian defender Felipe, midfielder Jonjo Shelvey and three-time Champions League winner Keylor Navas leaving on deadline day through the revolving door that is Forest’s recruitment department, boss Steve Cooper has managed the last 18 games in the top flight. More changes have been made to A campaign spanning more than two decades with survival as the number one goal.
However, the Welshman has done an excellent job so far and, despite the disappointment of a second defeat by the same opposition in the space of a week, can take comfort in the knowledge that his side are competitive for long spells in both games. was
During the first half, VAR Michael Salisbury was asked to check a possible red card offense between United winger Alejandro Garnacho and Forest forward Brennan Johnson, who had not strayed far from the visitors’ technical area.
It was immediately ruled that there was nothing in the incident to warrant dismissal.
Referee Peter Banks signaled to talk to Johnson, although no action was taken.
Forest boss Steve Cooper, when asked about the reason for Johnson’s anger, gave a blunt reply: “I don’t want to comment on that.”
