Casemiro gives Ten Hag his own Fergie moment with late Man Utd winner
This was not quite a Mark Robins moment, but it will have felt every bit as significant to Erik ten Hag.
Thirty-four years ago, a goal from Robins earned a 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest, keeping Sir Alex Ferguson in a job and Manchester United on course for FA Cup glory. The rest, of course, is history. On this occasion, Casemiro was United's saviour, turning in a free-kick from Bruno Fernandes a minute from normal time, to set up a quarter-final showdown with arch rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford.
Defeat here would not have cost Ten Hag his job, but would certainly have nudged him closer to the sack, against the backdrop of new United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe's refusal to back his manager. With Ten Hag effectively on trial between now and the end of the season, his chances of keeping his job will hinge on him winning a trophy and potentially securing a Champions League place.
While the latter seems unlikely, with United eight points off fourth spot with 12 games remaining, the former remains a realistic target, although winning the FA Cup may not be enough to save Ten Hag, as Louis van Gaal found to his cost. Yet given United's wretched record at Old Trafford this season, losing eight times, victory over Jurgen Klopp's Premier League leaders will be no easy feat, particularly if Ten Hag's men labour as much as they did here.
Had Forest been able to finish any of the many chances they created, they could have been the ones hosting Klopp's men, but their shortcomings in the final third ultimately saw them come up short. Since beating United at the City Ground on December 30, Forest had won just one of their last 10 games in all competitions.
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United, meanwhile, saw their run of five straight wins in all competitions come to an end with defeat to Fulham at Old Trafford last Saturday. But the Red Devils were boosted with skipper Fernandes and centre-back Raphael Varane passed fit, after both were doubts to start.
United conjured the first chance after three minutes, £86million flop Antony – restored to the starting line-up – clipping the bar with a dipping effort. The visitors spurned another chance to take the lead four minutes later, Diogo Dalot crossing for Scott McTominay, whose header went straight at Forest keeper Matt Turner.
The pattern of missed opportunities continued in the 17th minute, when Marcus Rashford lashed a shot over the bar. Forest could have gone ahead within a minute, a misplaced pass from Sofyan Amrabat to Varane seized upon by Taiwo Awoniyi, whose angled effort was tipped away by Andre Onana.
Casemiro turns in United's late winner to snatch victory (Getty Images)Fernandes does not have to try hard to be the focal point of ire from opposing fans and he slipped comfortably into that role in the first-half, when he went down under an innocuous challenge, protesting he had been fouled.
After his pleas were ignored, Fernandes leapt to his feet to rejoin the United attack, his swift recovery from apparent injury enraging the home support and ensuring he was booed every time he touched the ball thereafter. Twice inside the first five minutes of the restart, Onana was called upon to make vital saves, first from Awoniyi, then from Divock Origi, as Forest pushed for the opening goal.
With extra-time looming, the breakthrough came, Casemrio turning the ball past Turner with the faintest of headers, to keep alive United's stuttering season.
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