Man Utd vs Nottingham Forest LIVE: Carabao Cup result and final score after Anthony Martial and Fred goals
Manchester United lead 3-0 after first leg and hope to win first piece of silverware since 2017
Manchester United will book a place at Wembley if they avoid losing to Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup semi-finals tonight. The Red Devils did the damage in the first leg thanks to goals from Marcus Rashford,Wout Weghorst, and Bruno Fernandes who helped Erik ten Hag’s men to a 3-0 win.
The manager has been quite vocal about his desire to bring silverware back to Old Trafford and the Carabao Cup is United’s best chance at winning a trophy for the first time since 2017. Attempting to stop them are Nottingham Forest but it would take a remarkable comeback from Steve Cooper’s side to get back in this tie.
It remains to be seen whether Ten Hag will rest his key players but Anthony Martial and Jadon Sancho are expected to be in the matchday squad and could make their return for the Red Devils. The winner of this semi-final will play Newcastle at Wembley after Eddie Howe’s side defeated Southampton to reach their first cup final since 1999.
Follow all the action from the Carabao Cup semi-final at Old Trafford:
Man Utd 0-0 Nottm Forest (3-0 agg)
6 mins: Nearly! Man Utd work the ball quickly down the right side. Bruno Fernandes gives it to Antony who lays it off to a forward moving Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Wan-Bissaka flicks the ball into the penalty area to match Fernandes’ run but Forest admirably block the cross when it comes in.
Man Utd 0-0 Nottm Forest (3-0 agg)
3 mins: Raphael Varane sends the ball across to Antony who darts inside and takes a heavy touch. The ball comes loose and Gustavo Scarpa close it down.
He boots the ball up the pitch in a no-nonsense clearance to keep United away from the penalty area.
Kick off: Man Utd 0-0 Nottm Forest (3-0 agg)
Manchester United get the match started. No side in the history of this competition has come back from the position Nottingham Forest find themselves in.
The visitors desperately need to score the first goal.
Man Utd vs Nottm Forest
Here come the teams.
Bruno Fernandes once again leads out Manchester United. Will tonight’s match be a regulation outing for the home side or can Nottingham Forest halt their march to Wembley?
A late change
Jesse Lingard has been injured in the warm-ups and Nottingham Forest are forced into a late change before kick off. Emmanuel Dennis comes in to replace him.
‘An incredibly difficult task'
“It’s an incredibly difficult task and it’d be wrong to say otherwise,” said Nottingham Forest boss, Steve Cooper, ahead of kick off.
“We won’t be going into the game really disheartened, but instead have to treat it for what it is.
“This is a semi-final, a stage the club has not been at for a while. When you play for Nottingham Forest, it’s an honour and a privilege and you have to represent that in the best way possible.
“We have to do our best to do ourselves, the club and the supporters justice and that is all we are thinking about.”
What does Erik ten Hag expect from tonight’s match?
‘’I just said I expect a really ambitious Nottingham Forest. They will go [hard], of course, they are well prepared but it’s up to us. As always, it’s up to us.” explained the Man Utd boss,
“It doesn’t matter which opponents we face, we have to take it seriously and, more importantly, want to be better. Better than the day before - our approach is good is not good enough.
We have to be better. The first leg was 3-0 but the game is starting tomorrow with 0-0. We want to keep the momentum going.’’
Jonjo Shelvey talks joining Forest
Jonjo Shelvey made a surprise move on deadline day and joined Nottingham Forest from Newcastle. He explained the reason for the move saying:
“I spoke to Eddie Howe and he had such good words to say about Steve Cooper. I previously knew of him from my time at Liverpool, so I knew what a fantastic coach he was, but meeting him for the first time has been a breath of fresh air.
“He’s told me what he expects and the high standards he sets, so I can hope I can come and help the team push to stay in the Premier League.
“I’ve been in this league a long time, I know what it takes to stay up and what it takes to get a good team to gel, so I’m looking forward to getting started and working with the players that are here.”
Newcastle mix homegrown heroes and fast-paced progress to stand on the cusp of history
Oxford and Luton have won trophies more recently than Newcastle United. So have Wimbledon and Coventry.
Since the Magpies even went to a final, fourth-division Bradford have played in one. Wigan and Birmingham, Swansea and Portsmouth have won them. There are success-starved clubs and then there is Newcastle United, a big club in terms of history and stadium and support and, now, spending power and ambition, but where no one has needed to open the trophy cabinet since the Beatles were still together, England were the reigning World Cup winners and Neil Armstrong had yet to reach the moon.
It is a long time since they won the Fairs Cup in 1969; longer still since they got major domestic silverware in 1955. Suffice to say no one had heard of Carabao then or the Saudi Public Investment Fund. Much has changed in 15 months at St James’ Park, let alone in 68 years.
Newcastle mix homegrown heroes and fast progress to stand on the cusp of history
Eddie Howe has overseen a dramatic improvement in the Magpies’ fortunes since the Saudi Arabian investment arrived at St James’ Park
Cooper looking forward to game
Speaking ahead of the fixture, Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper is determined to put in a strong performance in an attempt to overturn the first leg deficit his tea faces tonight.
“It was obviously a disappointing result in the first leg and we were all frustrated but it’s the situation that we find ourselves in and we have to deal with that.
“It’s a semi final and a stage that the club hasn’t been on for a while so we’ve got to respect that, we’ve got to respect the supporters that are travelling and when you play for Nottingham Forest it’s an honour and a privilege.
“We are looking forward to the game, we have objectives that we want to try and achieve and see where it takes us. We want to come away giving what we can and show some progression on the things that we’re trying to improve on.
“We want to get a positive result, a positive performance and we have to treat the game for what it is. We want a positive result on the night and we want to bring our mentality and spirit to the game.”
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