THE CITY GROUND, NOTTINGHAM — Manchester United took a massive step towards a first Carabao Cup final since 2016/17, defeating Nottingham Forest 3-0 in their semifinal first leg.
Marcus Rashford, Wout Weghorst and Bruno Fernandes were the heroes on the night for United, who are looking to end a six-year trophy drought. Forest, meanwhile, will need a monumental shock in next week's return leg at Old Trafford — where they lost 3-0 in the league a month ago — to have any chance of making a first final since 1991/92.
This famous old ground on the River Trent produced a deafening atmosphere at kick-off, having proven a difficult place for 'Big Six' opponents to visit of late, with Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur suffering defeats, while Chelsea were lucky to escape with a draw.
He's a man full of confidence and was the clear out-ball for Erik ten Hag's men through the first half. Every time he got on the ball, Rashford looked an absolute menace, and as he even showed at league-leaders Arsenal on Sunday, the unstoppable force is sending shivers through every defence in the country at present.
But United couldn't capitalise and allowed Forest back into the game. Morgan Gibbs-White began to pull the strings as only he can for the Reds, showing the full set of golf clubs with some lovely passes and incredible dynamism on the transition. He was tenacious in the battle with the returning Casemiro, who will be having nightmares about Gibbs-White after being dispossessed and burst past several times.Watch video