United were underwhelming at the City Ground but still did enough to come away with a 1-0 win thanks to Casemiro’s 89th-minute header. The Red Devils have been drawn against bitter rivals Liverpool in what promises to be a gripping quarter-final.
Ten Hag endured a turbulent start to the season which sparked questions over his future. But a positive run of form finally came out of the woodwork in late January, when a win over Newport County kick-started a streak of five victories in a row.
Fulham dished out a sobering reality check on Saturday with a shock 2-1 triumph at Old Trafford. But United returned to winning ways at the first time of asking by edging out Forest, with Ten Hag batting away suggestions of up-and-down performances in recent weeks.
When asked whether United’s top priority should be finding consistency from here on out, a laughing Ten Hag told the BBC: “We are consistent. We lost one time in 2024, so we are consistent.
“It’s not easy when you have the whole back line [injured]. We have to shuffle there and play players in different positions, but I’m very proud that we did it.”
United may need to summon a high-class performance as well as the grit they showed against Forest to get anything out of Sunday’s Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium.
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side are on an 18-game unbeaten run in all competitions, and they head into this weekend’s contest full of confidence after a 6-2 win over Luton Town, in which Erling Haaland netted five goals.
