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Ten Hag Speaks!
Thanks for reading this MBM. Good night!
Steve Cooper talks to Sky. “Obviously I’m disappointed to lose the game. Disappointed with the way the goals were scored. It’s always going to be difficult, but there were things we talked about, what not to do, and we fell short in those moments and got punished. That’s what’s disappointing. We were naive. We played some really good stuff in the first half. We scored a goal that was offside, it was a good move. We have good positions. I felt we were going to equalize. But the timing of the goals was really bad and self-inflicted. We are disappointed by this. At times in the first half we got caught up in the game and forgot about both legs. In the end, 2-0 would have been a poor result, but 3-0 obviously makes it worse and perhaps we should have accepted 2-0 for what it was going to be and taken it to Old Trafford. thinking if you will get one you never know. So we lost that little opportunity and now it’s getting even harder. We put ourselves in this situation and now we have to deal with it next week. We will set ourselves some goals that give us a little bit of a chance but will also help us push forward in the Premier League after that.”
Updated at 22.36 GMT
Erik ten Hag spoke to Sky and was not too happy that Forest had the ball in the net in the first half. “I am happy with the performance. For 90 minutes we controlled the game. There was one moment that could have changed the game and we have to be aware of that and improve it, but overall it was a good performance. The first leg is done, but there is one more leg to go. Forest changed the system but we didn’t read it. That cant happen. This is a time to learn and improve as a team. If you want to be top, these moments cannot happen. We created some really good chances. We almost let them back into the game. We started so well and had so much control. We cannot allow an opponent back into the game. In the second half we were much more relaxed. Players must be focused [for the second leg].”
Hot management shots coming up. Meanwhile, Peter Lansley’s report landed. Here it is!
Lisandro Martinez was named man of the match and spoke to Sky Sports. “I am very pleased with the work of the boys. We played so well and controlled the game. But we have a lot to improve. We lost the last game. We never give up. We must continue. We showed discipline. We were very focused. We always have to play like this, keep going, keep fighting. We deserved the result. It’s a good result for us, but we have to go step by step, we have one more game and we have to prepare again.”
One for the mantle. Photo: Matt West/Shutterstock
Updated at 22.11 GMT
Nottingham Forest contributed to an open, entertaining game. But the opening moment was their undoing. They couldn’t capitalize on their chances while United, who produced more of them, were more clinical with theirs. Forest have won all six of their previous League Cup semi-finals against Leeds (1978), Watford (1979), Liverpool (1980), Bristol City (1989), Coventry City (1990) and Tottenham Hotspur (1992). Now needing a three-goal win in the second leg at Old Trafford just to make it to extra-time, it doesn’t look like Manchester United (2023) will add to that proud list. A good night for United, who continue to gain places under Erik ten Hag. They are one competent performance 90 minutes away from Wembley!
FINAL: Nottingham Forest 0-3 Manchester United
It’s only half time in this two-legged semi. But Manchester United have one foot and at least three toes in the final.
90 mins +2: It was Fernandes’ 100th goal for Manchester United.
90 minutes +1: The first of three added minutes passes without incident. Exit the three sides of the City Ground. Guest section, no problem, keep on partying.
90 mins: United go to celebrate with their fans. An advertising pound collapses, fans pour over it and fall in a heap. For a second, the scene looks alarming. But the fans, players and stewards seemed to get the situation under control quickly and it didn’t appear that anyone was hurt. Divine glory to all.
Some billboards collapsed under the weight of celebrating United fans as goalscorer Bruno Fernandes was congratulated by his teammates. Photo: Darren Staples/AFP/Getty Images
Updated at 22.07 GMT
GOAL! Nottingham Forest 0-3 Manchester United (Fernandez 89)
Fernandez released Pellistri in the middle with an outstanding reverse pass. This time Pellistri is stopped by a good move by Williams. Bent over, Williams tries to volley the ball but can’t get any purchase on the clearance. Elanga rolled the loose ball to Fernandez who fired a fine shot past Hennessy and into the bottom left corner!
Good finish from Fernandes… Photo: Paul Currie/Colorsport/Shutterstock Gives Manchester United their third. Photo: Ryan Brown/Shutterstock
Updated at 22.18 GMT
88 min: United almost scored the third goal that would surely have put this semi-final to bed at the halfway stage. Fred rolled the ball up the middle for Pellistri, putting him in the box. Hennessey suffocates at his feet. But it doesn’t matter because…
87 min: Another free-kick for Forest, this time out on the right. One more chance to charge the box. Another poor delivery from Williams. United clear their lines calmly.
86 min again: Lindelof makes a long pass from the right for Dennis to chase down. Lindelof, United’s last man, clings to his shoulder and eventually pushes him away. Good protection.
86 min: Weghorst, who opened his United account tonight with a fine striker’s goal, is replaced by Elanga.
85 min: Pelistri receives a yellow card. Williams then curled the free-kick over a packed six-yard box. What a waste.
84 min: Pellistri gifts Forest possession, then throws Williams to the floor, just to the left of the box near the byline. Williams will take the free kick himself. Forest load on the box.
83 min: Forest pull United back only for Dennis to needlessly clip Wan-Bissaka. The pressure released in a stroke. “JLingz is still an ex-United hero in my book,” writes Brendan May. “Perhaps if he hadn’t had eight managers during what should have been the prime of his career, he would have done better.”
81 min: Forest don’t look like grabbing a goal at the moment, which would make their task at Old Trafford a little more realistic. The away fans with a good voice.
79 min: Pelistri crosses into Forest’s box on the right. Weghorst fired wide left under pressure from Worrall. Good football all round.
78 min: Fred lowers his shoulder to come in from the left. Aim at the top right. Full marks for ambition. Kick from the door.
76 min: Denis plays a horrendous blind square pass that offers Garnacho the opportunity to break away from the center line. Denis will be grateful that his team-mate Aurier held on to Garnacho’s shoulder before eventually dispossessing him and clearing. It could have cost Forest dearly.
74 min: Williams is immediately in the thick of things, driving down the left and sailing into the box for current Forest legend Lingard. He raises wide eyebrows from the right for a goal and probably should have left it to Johnson behind him.
73 min: Gibbs-White goes down injured and leaves sadly. He is one of two Forest players to leave, Lodi being the other. O’Brien and Williams enter in their place.
72 min: Pellistri and Fred come on for Eriksen and Antoni.
70 minutes: … nothing happens. Conor Murphy, meanwhile, would like to take issue with my description of Jesse Lingard as a ‘former United hero’, saying: ‘Are you right? He was hopeless. More interested in celebrating JLingz than becoming a better player. Enough.” He won the last United Cup for them, didn’t he? God, big crowd tonight.
69 min: Antony and Eriksen combine from the right to win a corner. From which …
67 min: Antony slides down the right before releasing Eriksen in the middle. Eriksen advanced to the left corner of the Forest D before sending a diagonal ball to Fernandes. McKenna counted the danger of going out on the road and heading back into a corner from which nothing came.
65 min: Garnacho, unconcerned one iota by the home crowd’s chants, chases a lost cause down the left and cuts for Eriksen, who crosses from the left. Weghorst can’t meet it with his head. All this and the ball certainly flashed into the net. Weghorst claims his shirt was pulled by McKenna, and he may have a point. But we keep playing.
64 min: Forest make a double change, replacing Scarpa and Surridge with Dennis and former United hero Lingard.
63 min: Deep cross into United’s box from the right. Scarpa meets him on the volley into the left corner of the six-yard box. Wan-Bissaka blocks bravely in a corner from which nothing comes.
62 min: Garnacho gets involved in a few minor incidents, mostly kicking the ball in frustration. There is no map and he has already become something of a pantomime villain for the home fans who boo him with every touch.
60 min: Gibbs-White is furious with the linesman for awarding a throw-in to United. He used that energy for good, chasing down a napping Antony, dispossessing him and curling a shot into the top left. The shot flies comfortably over the bar.
Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White reacts after seeing his shot go the wrong side of the crossbar. Photo: Molly Darlington/Reuters
Updated at 21.27 GMT
59 min: Forest respond by making their first change, replacing Danilo with Kolback.
58 min: Rashford doesn’t look too uncomfortable as he walks off. Windy maybe? Safety submarine with the job done.
57 min: Fernandez tries to swoop in…
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