Manchester United will face Newcastle United in the final of the League Cup (EFL Cup) after edging past Nottingham Forrest in the second led by 2-0. Goals from Fred and Anthony Martial were enough on the evening for the Red Devils to see them book a final berth while they won the tie 5-0, having earlier beaten Forrest 3-0 at City Ground in first leg.
Manchester United run riot
Leading 3-0 from the first leg of their semi-final after a dominant performance last week at the City Ground, United completed the job at Old Trafford with late goals from Anthony Martial and Fred to seal a 2-0 win. They even managed to give a run out to Jadon Sancho, making his first appearance for the club after an extended absence of more than three months.
Erik ten Hag now has the opportunity to claim a first piece of silverware in his debut season with the club, which would end a six-year wait since United's last trophy - the 2017 Europa League under Jose Mourinho. Despite their advantage from the first leg, Ten Hag still named a strong side, with the likes of Luke Shaw, Raphael Varane and Casemiro all featuring.
Forest were forced to replace Jesse Lingard with Emmanuel Dennis after the former was injured in the warm-up, which proved a further setback in their attempts to do the impossible.
Both teams at bay at halftime
It was a low-key first-half until both sides had good chances just before the break. At one end Dennis was teed up by Brennan Johnson before being denied when his shot struck his own team-mate in Sam Surridge. At the other end Casemiro then crossed beautifully for Wout Weghorst, but his header hit the post.
United were comfortable but Ten Hag still opted to put on Martial and Marcus Rashford on the hour, while he also brought on Sancho, who returned for the first time since October 22. The pair then combined after a quick turnover as Martial fired in United's first of the night on 73 minutes, beating Wayne Hennessy from close range.
