Marcus Rashford was hailed as “unstoppable” after helping Manchester United to the brink of the Carabao Cup final.
Erik ten Hag’s United will take a 3-0 lead back to Old Trafford for the second leg of their semi-final next Wednesday. In-form Rashford ran from inside the visitors’ half at the City Ground to open the scoring for his 10th goal in 10 games since the World Cup and his 18th in total this term.
New-boy Wout Weghorst then doubled United’s lead just before the break with his first goal for the club in front of Sir Alex Ferguson in the stands. United skipper Bruno Fernandes added a late third as the visitors seemingly clinched an unassailable lead for the right to play Newcastle or Southampton at Wembley next month.
Boss Ten Hag, pleased to see his side bounce back from their defeat at Arsenal in the Premier League, assessed: “It was a great opening goal. I have seen some good moments and dynamics now. I am happy with Marcus and his performance and development.
“He is growing. He is responsible for that and needs to keep that process going. He is unstoppable if we get him in the right positions. You need to be creative in the final third and do some crazy stuff.”
The emphatic victory gives United a golden chance to end their trophy drought stretching back to 2017. Argentine World Cup-winner Lisandro Martinez said: “It is a good result for us but we have to go step by step.
Is Marcus Rashford the best player in England on form? Have your say in the comments!
“I am really happy because we showed discipline for the whole game and were very focused. We have to play always like this and keep fighting.
“I am really happy we controlled the game. We know that the team is doing a really good job. But we have many things to improve and we have to keep going.”
Forest thought they had equalised but Sam Surridge had an effort ruled offside by VAR. Fernandes’ seventh of the season in the 89th minute was a hammer blow which left Steve Cooper with his head in his hands after his side failed to score with 13 shots.
