Nottingham Forest 0-3 Manchester United: Rashford, Weghorst & Fernandes fire Reds one step closer to Carabao Cup final

Manchester United were comfortable victors in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final clash against Nottingham Forest, with Marcus Rashford, Wout Weghorst and Bruno Fernandes giving them a 3-0 advantage going back to Old Trafford.

Erik ten Hag’s men are now one step closer to ending the club’s six-year trophy drought after a solid performance against Steve Cooper’s side.

After dropping points twice in a row for the first time since August, United were quick out of the blocks at The City Ground and got their rewards after 10 minutes.

Casemiro released Marcus Rashford on the left flank and the United no.10 drove from just inside the Forest half towards their penalty box.

Confidence flying, the winger cut open a passage with a quick turn between two defenders and smashed the ball into the roof of the net with his left foot. It was simply excellent play and was Rashford’s 18th of the season for The Reds.

Dominance continued afterwards and Antony – who looked lively after Ten Hag admitted he needs to be more direct – went close with a curling effort.

However, the counter-attacking threat of Morgan Gibbs-White, Brennan Johnson and Sam Surridge provided a stern warning sign mid-way through the half where VAR came to United’s rescue.

Gibbs-White provided Surridge with a great pass on the break and the forward buried the chance into David de Gea’s far corner. Despite the goal being ruled out for a slight offside moments later, the move gave the hosts confidence and they started to plant their influence on the game.

Chanced fell to Johnson in the coming minutes but the talented wide man was unable to dispatch his shots.

Ten Hag’s men were rocked slightly but still were a danger in attacking areas. Antony went close to scoring after a fluid attacking move including Bruno Fernandes and Wout Weghorst but could not disguise the placement of his shot well enough.

It wasn’t long until it clicked again for The Reds and they managed to double their lead moments before the break through January signing Weghorst.

The Dutch striker was the first to react after a fierce strike from Antony could only be parried by Wayne Hennessey. An instinctive swipe with his left foot found the roof of the net and opened his United account.

The lead was doubled and United came into the second half comfortably. Weghorst had a chance on the break minutes after the restart but his shot was expertly blocked by Scott McKenna.

It wasn’t long afterwards when Christian Eriksen was inches away from making it three. His curling effort from the edge of the box hit the wrong side of the woodwork.

Despite the deficit, Forest were still dangerous on the break, with Gibbs-White firing a warning shot over De Gea’s crossbar after 56 minutes to remind United that they were still in a game.

Rashford was replaced by 18-year-old Alejandro Garnacho moments later, with Facundo Pellistri and Fred coming on for Antony and Eriksen slightly later in the half.

The young Uruguayan winger impressed during his debut in this competition earlier in the month but had some mixed moments in his second appearance.

He was close to setting up Weghorst with a whipped cross from the right but the forward couldn’t direct his header towards goal. But then made some inexperienced mistakes at the other end of the pitch.

His wayward backpass in his own half was dealt with well by Lisandro Martinez but then he gave away a free-kick on the edge of the box and earned himself a booking.

With the game coming to a close, Bruno Fernandes added a third with a powerful half-volley into the bottom corner. He was found by late-substitute Anthony Elanga after Pellistri was tackled in the area and made no mistake with his finish.

It was a much-needed victory and performance from United as they enter the business end of the season.