FIVE ASIDES Carabao Cup, semi-final, second leg: United 2, Forest 0 (agg. 5-0)
This ought to be more exciting. United are in a final! But cup football is all about drama and … there wasn’t any. Forest, who had to score early on to make a tie of it, didn’t manage a shot before half-time. After 70 minutes it was still 0-0 and United were in danger of boring their way to Wembley. Then two subs (and a friendly rebound) combined to find the net. Anthony Martial’s goal, assisted by Marcus Rashford, was instantly followed by a tap-in from Fred, scored with his shin or knee, assisted by Rashford’s shin or knee. Those two touches could afford to be clunky because Bruno Fernandes’ cross to Rashford, off the outside of the right foot, had been exquisite.
The whole League Cup run has contained no more than seven minutes of jeopardy. United have beaten Villa 4-2, Burnley 2-0, Charlton 3-0, Forest 3-0 and 2-0. They did go behind twice against Villa – but only for one minute (at 0-1) and then six (at 1-2). The final, against Newcastle on February 26, will be United’s first Carabao meeting of the season with another heavyweight – although Villa, to be fair, had just beaten them in the league. The draw has been kind, giving United as many home fixtures as a top team can have. At Wembley, it’s going to be a different ballgame.
The best thing about this match was the return of Jadon Sancho. He came on smiling, got a fond reception, and occupied an unexpected role as the No 10. Fernandes, so dynamic at the moment, switched to his side-hustle on the right, where he becomes what Erik ten Hag calls ‘a semi-wide player’. Sancho at 10 makes some sense because, before his time off, he had become a peculiar sort of winger, doing very little on the wing yet often making an impact in the middle. He seemed to have forgotten how to cross while remembering exactly how to score. In his first half-hour back he was lively, tidy, on the same wavelength as Fernandes, Martial and Rashford. But then those three were calling the tune, along with Casemiro behind them. Sancho was able to play fourth fiddle, which is fine when you’re feeling your way back.
The other bonus was the way United’s passing improved after they brought on their stellar subs. The slow square balls that used to make the crowd groan have now given way to quick, short diagonals, often played first-time. All those rondos they do in training are finally paying off. It’s exhilarating to watch and effective too, at least against modest opponents who tend to be bamboozled by it. But it doesn’t suit Antony, who would rather take five touches than one. Something has got to give there: a player Ten Hag clearly favours is working against the system he’s keen to impose.
The one disappointment was the lack of rotation, again. When Ten Hag fielded his first-choice front six against Reading, people assumed he was planning to rotate against Forest. As it was, he picked the strongest available XI bar Rashford and David de Gea, who were rested and replaced by Alejandro Garnacho and Tom Heaton – but still not given the night off. And this even though the reluctance to rotate against Reading had come at a high price. The team the fans wanted, as shown by the MEN’s interactive selection gizmo, didn’t include Christian Eriksen, who would thus have been spared Andy Carroll’s act of violence. Eriksen is now out until April and will miss the League Cup final, just the sort of game in which United will need his vision and bravery on the ball. With Fred standing in for him – adding energy, pressing well but seldom trying a defence-splitting pass – United are more likely to get stuck at 0-0, which is Newcastle’s favourite scoreline. After doing well to sign a classy understudy for Eriksen in Marcel Sabitzer, they now need him to settle in fast.
Tim de Lisle writes about sport for The Guardian and music for The Mail on Sunday. If you’re still on Twitter, do follow him and United Writing.