🏆 Man Utd one step away from Wembley after seeing off Forest | OneFootball
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Manchester United have one foot in the EFL Cup final after seeing off Nottingham Forest in the first leg of their semi-final at the City Ground.
Scorers: Rashford 6′, Weghorst 45′, Fernandes 88′.
Marcus Rashford continued his impeccable goalscoring form and Wout Weghorst bagged his first for the club as Erik ten Hag’s team put themselves in a commanding position ahead of the return meeting next week.
Rashford broke the deadlock early on with a stunning solo effort – picking the ball up on the halfway line before beating three Forest defenders and lashing it past Wayne Hennessey at his near post.
It was Rashford’s 10th goal in as many games since returning from the World Cup, giving the visitors the perfect start.
Forest responded well and had the ball in the net moments later although Sam Surridge was adjudged to be offside by VAR before slotting into the bottom corner.
Gustavo Scarpa forced David De Gea into a strong save with a half-volley from the edge of the before Brennan Johnson blazed over after a quick counter-attack.
United dealt what could prove to be the killer blow in the final minute of his first half with Weghorst reacting first to get on to the rebound from Antony’s shot to poke into the top corner.
The hosts continued to show fight in the second period and Morgan Gibbs-White was unlucky to see his powerful drive from the edge of the box fly just over.
But Bruno Fernandes wrapped up the win, and possibly decided the tie, with a shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the box in the dying minutes.
This was United’s night and they hold a three-goal lead heading into the second leg at Old Trafford on Wednesday February 1.