DEVILS BURN FOREST
Man United reach first final with Ten Hag
ERik ten Hag was hired to bring the good times back to Manchester United. Now, just nine months after his appointment, he is one game away from ending the club’s six-year trophy wait.
A 2-0 win against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday sealed a 5-0 aggregate victory in the League Cup semi-finals.
United will face Newcastle in the final at Wembley Stadium on Feb 26 for the English season’s first piece of major silverware.
“It is good to reach the final of course, but it is not about reaching the final, it is about winning it,” Ten Hag said.
“It has to give huge motivation to us and we want to bring that cup (back).”
Substitute Anthony Martial opened the scoring in the 73rd minute and Fred added a second in the 76th, with both goals set up by Marcus Rashford. United won the first leg 3-0 at the City Ground last week.
“When you get this far you want to go one further. The damage was really done last week,” Forest manager Steve Cooper said.
Ten Hag has not made United fans wait long for a first cup final under him.
The Dutchman took charge last April and was given the task of turning the club’s fortunes around after too long in the shadows of fierce rivals Manchester City and Liverpool.
The League Cup was the earliest possible final he could reach and victory in the showpiece occasion later this month would further fuel belief that he is building a team capable of competing for the biggest prizes in club football again.
United have not won a trophy since 2017 when former manager Jose Mourinho triumphed in the League Cup and Europa League in his first season in charge.
While Ten Hag can emulate the Portuguese coach by also winning a trophy in his debut campaign with United, his ultimate challenge is to deliver Premier League and Champions League titles.
Those were standards set by managerial great Alex Ferguson and ones United have not come close to meeting since his retirement in 2013.
Ten Hag is the fifth permanent managerial appointment since then and took over a team that finished sixth last season, 35 points below champion City.
A title bid was always unlikely this year, but United are in a strong position to qualify for the Champions League, currently fourth in the table and still competing in the FA Cup and Europa League.
“We have a good squad so we have to demand and control the high standards. You have to bring that every game. We are Manchester United. When you are a United player you have to match the standards,” Ten Hag said.
For a club that have won an English record 20 league titles, a League Cup final is a long way short of its greatest achievements. Old Trafford, however, was in party mood in anticipation of a trip to Wembley.
Supporters expected United to comfortably complete the job after taking such a commanding lead into the second leg.
United can expect a tougher challenge from a Newcastle team aiming to win its first major trophy since the FA Cup in 1955.
The Saudi-backed club have been one of the biggest surprises of the season, sitting third in the Premier League, one place above United.
The match will be a repeat of the 1999 FA Cup final, which United won 2-0.