Manchester United 2-0 Nottingham Forest (5-0 on aggregate): United brush past Forest to book a place in the final

Nottingham Forest needed a miracle this evening as no side has come back from a three-goal first leg defeat in 63 years of the EFL Cup, but the strike force of Manchester United ensured they booked their ticket to Wembley at the end of February.

United managed to keep out some decent attempts by Forest, as they started the first half strong, maintaining 73% possession and managed 296 passes compared to Forest’s 108. 

The Red Devils kicked into a higher gear after a slow first-half, with goals from Anthony Martial and Fred. The introduction of Marcus Rashford set up both finishes, and his performance paired with Martial and Jadon Sancho transformed the game.

Erik Ten Hag fielded a strong and comfortable team after their initial win against Forest in the first leg. Changes at the back saw Victor Lindelof make way for Raphael Varane and Luke Shaw returned from illness to replace Tyrell Malacia. Ten Hag gave experienced keeper Tom Heaton his second start in a United shirt, as he replaced David De Gea between the sticks.

An injury blow to Christian Eriksen allowed Fred to gain some vital minutes as new loan signing Marcel Sabitzer watched on from the stands. The prospective youngster, Alejandro Garnacho, replaced the in-form Marcus Rashford on the wing.

This semi-final came too soon for Steve Cooper to introduce his new signings, Jonjo Shelvey, Felipe and Keylor Navas. Former United player Jesse Lingard was due to start, after replacing the injured Morgan Gibbs-White, but picked up another injury in the pre-match warm-up and was therefore replaced by Emmanuel Dennis.

At the back, Willy Boly came into the side for Joe Worrall and Serge Aurier was swapped out for Neco Williams. Cooper opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation with Orel Mangala replacing Danilo as he was paired with Remo Freuler as defensive midfielders.

• Story Of The Match

A dangerous free-kick from Shaw in the 29^th minute opened the first notable moment of the first half, as Casemiro’s downward header was saved well by Wayne Hennessey with his outstretched foot.

Garnacho provided some excellent trickery as his clever dummy sparked a counter-attack and almost won a penalty as his pressure invoked a challenge from Williams in the box, but was not given by the referee in the 33^rd minute.

Brennan Johnson responded well to Wout Weghorst’s chance as he took his opportunity at the other end of the pitch, but his attempt was hit straight at Heaton who parried the ball away.

Fred was the first player to go into the referee’s book after catching Gustavo Scarpa late on the halfway line in the 34^th minute.

Forest were denied a shot on target by their own player, as a deflected flick up allowed Dennis to fire a shot on goal, but was pinged off course by Sam Surridge just before half time.

Surridge needlessly flew into Casemiro in the first added minute of the first half and went into the book for Forest’s first yellow card just before the break. 

Forest earned their first corner of the game in the second half as Johnson got the best of Casemiro, but came to no avail as it was easily cleared.

Yet again, Garnacho found space and connected with a pass from Bruno Fernandes, but his effort was palmed away by Hennessy.

The first substitions for United were introduced in the 63^rd minute, as Garnacho was substituted for Rashford, who received a cheer upon his return.

Antony was replaced for Jadon Sancho, who also received a cheer and his name was sung by the fans, as these were his first minutes since October, since taking some time out of the squad since before the World Cup. Anthony Martial also returned to the side after injury, as he replaced Weghorst up top.

Forest also made alterations, as Alex Mighten replaced Brennan Johnson up top, Danilo replaced Freuler in midfield and Aurier came on for Renan Lodi at full-back. 

This game was no short of penalty shouts, and another came as Rashford went to ground, but was ruled out as there was not enough contact.

Casemiro received a yellow card after trying to prevent a break from Forest, with his tackle looking worse than it was, in front of the referee.

Yet again, Casemiro won the ball in midfield, and sent Martial toward the Forest box, who then played in Rashford.  His deflected shot landed into the path of Martial, which allowed him to easily finish first-time, putting United up to 4-0 on aggregate.

The second goal came within seconds, as Fernandes' expertly placed outside of the foot cross finds Rashford, who knocks the ball back across the goal, where Fred is unmarked and was allowed to tap it home.

The remaining set of substitutions for United came in the 80th minute, with club captain Harry Maguire being introduced for Varane. After an  excellent performance, Casemiro deserved well earned break as he came off for Victor Lindelof. 

Forest Manager Steve Cooper could see that the game was well out of reach, and gave some minutes to youngsters Oliver Hammond and Detlef Osong, who replaced Scarpa and Surridge respectfully in the 86th minute.  

The two goals were too much for Forest as they were trailing five on aggregate and did not contribute much after United went ahead.

• Player Of The Match - Marcus Rashford

Ten Hag more than likely went into the second leg reassured that his squad could see the game through, allowing youngster Garnacho to gain some minutes out on the wing and give in-form striker Rashford some rest. 

As Forest were slowly creeping up on United, they needed a goal or two to stop a comeback from happening and as Rashford was substituted on, his two assists and performance was enough to make a difference, even though the Red Devils were through on aggregate.