Manchester United beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 at Old Trafford in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg.
Erik ten Hag’s Red Devils will face Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United in this month’s final at Wembley having beat Steve Cooper’s side 5-0 on aggregate.
Second half goals from Anthony Martial and Fred saw off a spirited Forest.
Here are five things we learned from tonight’s clash at the Theatre of Dreams.
Raphael Varane makes Carabao Cup debut
In United’s sixth Carabao Cup match since Varane joined the club, the former Real Madrid man made his first appearance in the domestic cup competition.
The 29-year-old partnered Lisandro Martinez in the heart of United’s defence, and the France international was on the receiving end of a hefty challenge from Sam Surridge on the stroke of half-time.
Martinez and Bruno Fernandes weren’t happy with the robust challenge, but luckily the Frenchman came away from the incident unscathed.
Marcel Sabitzer in attendance
United’s latest recruit Marcel Sabitzer couldn’t feature in tonight’s game because he is still completing his visa process.
The 68-time Austria international watched on as his new teammates took on Forest, and the 28-year-old will be hoping to be available for Saturday’s Premier League clash against Crystal Palace where he could make his bow for the Reds.
The Bayern Munich loanee has joined Ten Hag’s side on loan for the remainder of the campaign.
Tom Heaton makes second start
Ten Hag opted to hand the Manchester United Academy graduate his second start for the club over David de Gea and Jack Butland.
The 36-year-old, who won three caps for England, produced a smart save to deny Brennan Johnson in the first half and Danilo in the second.
The former Burnley man is yet to concede a goal in three appearances for the Reds.
Jesse Lingard injured in warm up
United’s former number 14 was named in Forest’s starting line-up and looked to have come into the side for the visitors’ club-record signing Morgan Gibbs-White who limped off in the first leg last week.
Lingard was visibly upset when he knew his second return to Old Trafford ended prematurely.
Jadon Sancho returns
United’s number 25 came on in the second half alongside Martial and Marcus Rashford to make his first appearance since coming off against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge back in October.
Instead of replacing Antony on the right, it was Fernandes who moved onto the wing and the former Borussia Dortmund forward took up the number ten role.
The embrace between the 22-year-old and Ten Hag before the England international marked his return shows how highly the former Ajax manager rates the former Manchester City youngster.
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