Manchester United beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final.
The Red Devils lined up with a relatively strong team with the likes of Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes, Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez and Antony despite holding a 3-0 lead in the first leg.
United began dominating possession in the first quarter of the game, with Forest reduced to less than 20 per cent of the ball.
Despite this obvious handicap, Forest continued to present a threat on the counter as the trio of Gustavo Scarpa, Neco Williams and Renan Lodi found space to venture out and send dangerous crosses into the United box.
In the 16th minute, United had a pretty decent penalty after Aaron Wan Bissaka gave the ball away in midfield. A nice dismissal from Weghorst and Fred would release Garnacho with a diagonal pass. The young Argentinian found himself tangled with Neco Williams in the Bosque area, but the referee didn’t budge.
There was soon another similar cry as Williams appeared to have touched the ball inside the box, but once again, it wasn’t deemed enough to be ruled out by VAR.
Just before the half hour mark, Garnacho, who was looking menacing on the wing, was brought down by Gustavo Scarpa. From the resulting free kick, Luke Shaw found Raphael Varane at the far post but his header was saved by Wayne Hennesey’s legs into the Forest goal.
Forest fired their first goal against the development of the game in the 34th minute, but Brennan Johnson shot straight past Tom Heaton.
From the resulting clearance, a midfield scramble ensued and Fred found himself in the book, after a scuffle with compatriot Scarpa.
Soon after, Antony shot over the crossbar on 37 minutes after Forest’s clearance from a Luke Shaw corner landed at his feet.
Forest had another fantastic opportunity to surprise the hosts, but Emmanuel Dennis’s shot, which appeared to hit the mark, was unfortunately blocked by his own team-mate, Sam Surridge.
United’s best chance of the first half came just before half-time when Wout Weghorst struck the post after an excellent cross from Casemiro.
The second half started in earnest, with both teams fighting hard to emerge victorious.
The first highlight – another screaming penalty, this time for Scott McKenna’s foul on Weghorst in the 55th minute – seemed ominous for Forest, but the referee deemed it fair.
There was also a VAR check for a possible red card surrounding a fight between Garnacho and Brennan Johnson, but once again, nothing came of it.
Just after the hour mark, Garnacho once again showed super dribbling feet and pulled off a great save from Hennesey at his near post.
It turned out to be the latter, as Martial, Sancho and Rashford replaced the attacking trio of Garnacho, Weghorst and Antony on the pitch.
It was Sancho’s first appearance for United since he featured in a 1-1 draw against Chelsea in October.
At 65′ a good corner from the right found Casemiro, but his header just missed.
A shot from Marcus Rashford was blocked by Williams soon after, while Casemiro found Hennessey with another effort from inside the box with his left foot, as United looked to up the ante.
The breakthrough finally came on 73 minutes when Antony Martial found the net after another riveting run from Marcus Rashford, his shot initially blocked by the Forest keeper, only for the Frenchman to apply the finishing touch.
Soon enough, the Red Devils doubled their lead when Fred scored, after being set up by a combination of Fernandes and Rashford, bringing his tally to four for the season for the Red Devils.
Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof replaced Casemiro and Varane on 80 minutes as United looked to strengthen their defense.
New Forest signing Danilo drew a great save from Tom Heaton on 82 minutes, but Sam Surridge blazed on the rebound, with an open goal. A stroke of luck for United.
Fernandes had a chance to make it 3-0 for United that night, but his shot went wide, albeit from a tricky angle.
An excellent second half performance from the Red Devils as they continue their march on multiple fronts.
