Nottingham Forest 0-1 Manchester United: Casemiro scores the winning goal late on to seal their place in the last eight

Manchester United booked an FA Cup quarter-final against arch-rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford next month thanks to Casemiro's 89th-minute winner against Nottingham Forest.

At the same ground where he famously won an FA Cup third-round tie in 1990 to save his job, Sir Alex Ferguson was left with current manager Erik ten Hag under pressure as the only player left. He was sitting next to United's new manager, Sir Dave Brailsford, as he defended Mark's chances. This is the second season in which we won the trophy.

Although the visiting team managed to pull the match into overtime, they squandered a number of golden chances to break the deadlock.

Forest, aiming to reach the last eight for the second time since 1996, only showed sporadic brilliance with Divock Origi and Taiwo Awonih both having decent shots saved by United keeper Andre Onana. was.

In the end, Casemiro's fifth goal of the season was enough to get his team through.

But United, without Harry Maguire with a suspected knee injury, will have to be more effective when they face Manchester City, whom they beat in last season's FA Cup final, on Sunday.

“We lost once in 2024. We have been consistent,” Ten Hag told BBC Match of the Day.

“It’s not that easy when you have the whole backline and you have to shuffle players around and play in different positions, so I’m really proud that we were able to do that.

“Every win is important, we take it for 24 hours and then move on. [We have] A great game is coming. ”

Anthony's dissatisfaction continues

Ten Hag surprised several people in his pre-match press conference by stating that Anthony was one of the fastest players over 10 yards and had the statistics to back it up.

It was his first start since scoring and contributing to the victory against Newport in the previous game, but it was not easy to see how he would be able to reach that number.

The truth is that the former Ajax player's possessions tended to follow a pattern. When receiving the ball on the right flank, he tended to either take a few unsteady steps to the right, then cut inside and either take a few steps across the pitch or simply lay the ball down.

This was not the reason United signed Anthony for £82m on Ten Hag's insistence just before the 2022 summer transfer deadline, making him the second most expensive player in the club's history behind Paul Pogba.

The Brazilian was unlucky to have an early shot from the edge of the area deflected off the crossbar, the end of a well-worked corner routine and part of an early attack that should have put the visitors ahead. Ta.

Scott McTominay was in a much better position than he realized when he fired an eight-yard header straight at unmarked Forest keeper Matt Turner. McTominay also met Diogo Dalot's cross late in the second half, ducking low and firing a header towards goal, but Turner made a smart reaction save to deny him.

Anthony had another shot on target for Forest in the second half, but was replaced by Amad Diallo with 17 minutes remaining, looking completely fed up as he trudged to the sideline.

Marcus Rashford also had one of his least effective nights, and when he darted wide after diving into the penalty area, it looked certain the game would go to extra time.

To the delight of the visiting fans, Casemiro had other ideas and his first goal since September proved decisive.

The forests are gone, but big challenges lie ahead.

Compared to relegation battles and legal battles to avoid points deductions, a draw in the FA Cup fifth round in midweek is number three on the priority list for Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis, who will be watching from his Forest seat. was. director's box.

Manager Nuno Espirito Santo replaced Steve Cooper and led the side to a home victory over Manchester United early in their honeymoon.

Since then, two of their three wins have come in FA Cup rematches against lower-league Blackpool and Bristol City, and worryingly, that venom seems to have disappeared from their play.

Morgan Gibbs-White's best chance to force Onana into a great save turned out to be offside anyway. Origi worked hard but was never the most reliable finisher, while Awoniyi was not his usual threat.

If all goes well for this weekend's home game against Liverpool, Forest have a plethora of games to win that could decide their fate.

But before that, a legal battle will begin early next week to avoid point deductions due to breaches of the Premier League's spending rules. The result could be crucial in their fight for survival at the top level.