Last Update: February 02, 2023, 07:07 IST
League Cup: Manchester United beat Nottingham Forest (AP)
Goals from Anthony Martial and Fred helped Manchester United beat Nottingham Forest 5–0 to beat Newcastle United in the League Cup final.
Manchester United manager Erik ten Haag said the trophy-winning standard should be sought at Old Trafford after beating Nottingham Forest 2-0 on Wednesday and 5-0 on aggregate to reach the League Cup final.
Anthony Martial and Fred scored for Ten Haag’s men in the last 17 minutes of the semi-final, the second leg saw United meeting Newcastle at Wembley on 26 February.
Three managers have left the club since United last won the trophy in 2017 under Jose Mourinho.
But Ten Haag is now just one game away from ending that drought in his first season in charge.
“I think we have a good team so we have to demand and control high standards,” said the Dutchman. “You have to bring that to every game.
“We are Manchester United. When you’re a United player, you have standards to meet.”
The loss for the Red Devils came in a 3–0 win in the first leg at the City Ground the previous week as Ten Haag was able to rotate his squad with United involved in four competitions.
He made six changes to the side that beat Reading 3-1 in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday, with Marcus Rashford among those left on the bench.
Woet Weghorst came close to breaking the deadlock just before half-time when the giant Dutch striker’s header came back off the post, but the game broke open once Ten Haag converted on the hour mark.
The former Ajax boss was given a limited budget in the January transfer window after spending more than £200 million ($247 million) in the summer, with just loan signings Weghorst, Marcel Sabitzer and Jack Butland.
But the return of Jadon Sancho has come at the right time to bolster United’s attacking options.
The England international had been sidelined since October due to a combination of mental and physical issues, but made his return just after the hour mark.
Rashford and Martial were introduced alongside Sancho and made an immediate impact.
“We’ve got a lot of deals to make so far in the season, so hopefully they’re all available now,” Ten Haag said. New dynamic off the bench.”
Martial headed home after Rashford’s early effort was blocked to open the scoring.
Three minutes later it was 2-0 as Rashford this time teed up Fred in the simplest of ways to finish into an empty net.
A much tougher test awaits at high-flying Newcastle but defender Luke Shaw believes United are headed for silverware under Ten Haag.
“It’s a huge pleasure but there’s no point in going to the final if we don’t win it. It’s where we want to be,” said the England international.
“We want to get this club back to where it should be which is winning trophies. Newcastle are a very good team but this is a big moment for us to get where we want to go.”
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)