Man Utd ease past Nottingham Forest, to play Newcastle in EFL final

Manchester United eased through their EFL Cup semi-final second leg with Nottingham Forest to book a 1999 Wembley rematch with Newcastle.

Second-half goals from Anthony Martial and Fred ensured victory on the night for Erik ten Hag’s side, even though a place in the final was virtually secure anyway thanks to their 3-0 first-leg triumph at the City Ground.

Martial, according to the British Broadcasting Corporation marked his return from a four-match injury absence by driving home his sixth goal of the season, after a pass intended for Marcus Rashford deflected back to the French striker 17 minutes from time.

Within 180 seconds, United had another when Bruno Fernandes picked out Rashford with a brilliant curling cross-field pass, which the England man turned into the path of Fred, who nudged the ball into an empty net from barely a yard out with his knee.

New signing Marcel Sabitzer watched from an executive box as United put themselves within one victory of their first trophy since 2017.

There was also a return to action for Jadon Sancho, who had not featured since October after Ten Hag put the England winger on an individual training programme in an effort to recover his form amid physical and mental issues.