Wout Weghorst has revealed his delight after scoring his first Manchester United goal in the League Cup semi-final triumph at Nottingham Forest.
“Great night, a great result and great feeling,” said the on-loan Dutchman, who only started training at his new club last week.
Weghorst scored just before half-time in the first-leg clash on Wednesday, adding to Marcus Rashford's opener in the 3-0 win, and added: “It’s always special and you want to score goals. You prefer to have one as quick as possible.
“I think in the first half we didn’t control the game as we wanted. It was a little bit too much up and down. We created a couple of really good chances also after the 1-0 from Rashford.”
Weghorst played as United’s central striker in a 4-2-3-1 formation, a reference point and a tall target man for the rest of his team.
“I think I was important there sometimes in the link-up, in the combinations through the middle,” he explained. “We had some great attacks that we unfortunately could not finish. Then, of course, I think it was a really good moment, a really good timing to score shortly before half-time because we were not that in control in the game. That definitely helped us.”
Weghorst’s goal came after he pounced on a parried Antony shot to strike the loose ball into the roof of the net.
“It was over the right side, I think, with Cas (Casemiro),” he said. “He played to Antony and he shot. I just moved and moved forward to the goal hoping for the rebound and it came. It came a little bit on the left of me and I took it, jumped in with the outside. I hit it fully.
Forest v United player ratings
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NOTTINGHAM FOREST RATINGS: Wayne Hennessey – 5 Caught unaware by Rashford’s fizzing left-footer inside the near post. Exposed again when Antony burst through, but blocked superbly. Might question his role in the second after a tame parry to Weghorst, but was unsighted for Fernandes’s clincher. Action Images -
Serge Aurier – 4 Went AWOL for Rashford’s early opener, setting the tone for a first half of positional indiscipline. Rediscovered his composure in the second half and slung in a decent cross for Scarpa which Wan-Bissaka blocked. Slipped back into bad habits in the final moments and was dispossessed on the edge of his own box. AFP -
Joe Worrall – 5 The skipper enjoyed an early let-off when Fernandes failed to punish his indecision in the box and was soon left for dead by Rashford for the game’s first goal, but he recovered with a solid performance under heavy pressure at times. AFP -
Scott McKenna – 6 Enjoyed a physical battle with Weghorst but the Dutchman was quickest to react when it counted and drilled in the killer second goal on the stroke of half-time. Bailed out his team-mates more than once with last-ditch interceptions. Getty -
Renan Lodi – 5 Match-winner at Old Trafford for Atletico Madrid in last season’s Champions League, but had an altogether harder this time around. Found compatriot Antony in lively form and struggled to contain him. Substituted 17 minutes from time. PA -
Gustavo Scarpa – 7 The debutant showed impressive wide deliveries in both open play and from set-pieces. Tested De Gea with a stinging volley from long-range and showed enough flashes of class to quickly endear himself to the City Ground faithful. PA -
Remo Freuler – 4 Failed to provide adequate cover for Rashford’s opener and didn’t seem overly comfortable with Forest’s rejigged midfield diamond. Struggled to impose himself on the game and was too often bypassed by United’s forward play. Getty -
Danilo – 6 Occupied a deep midfield role on his first Forest start and soon grew into it. Began the move for Surridge’s disallowed goal with a fine through-ball to Gibbs-White and was heavily involved in the first period. Tired after the break and made way just before the hour. PA -
Morgan Gibbs-White – 7 Forest’s liveliest creative threat. Teed up Surridge well for the striker’s disallowed goal and buzzed around Casemiro all evening. Almost halved the arrears on the hour but arrowed his left-footed effort narrowly over the bar. His departure through injury hailed the end of the hosts’ meaningful threat. PA -
Brennan Johnson – 6 Fed on scraps in the opening exchanges and shifted to a wider position to step up his involvement. Showed devastating pace to outstrip Wan-Bissaka in a first-half counter-attack, but wastefully shot at De Gea instead of squaring to Danilo. Moments later embarrassed two opponents before firing waywardly over. A calmer head could have changed the tie. Reuters -
Sam Surridge – 5 Thought he’d equalised with a well-taken finish midway through the first period, only to see the goal disallowed for offside. Otherwise battled gamely and put in a shift, enjoying more joy against Lindelof than Martinez before his departure midway through the second half. Getty -
SUBS: Jack Colback (Danilo, 58) – 5 Brought in to steady the hosts’ midfield as United threatened to put the tie to bed in the second half. Managed to do so initially, but unable to prevent Fernandes essentially ending it late on. Action Images -
Jesse Lingard (Gustavo Scarpa, 64) - 5 Needed less than 10 minutes to conjure a half-chance against his former side, but headed comfortably wide. Low-key when Forest needed some late magic. Action Images -
Emmanuel Dennis (Sam Surridge, 64) - 4 Flung on to bring raw pace and power to the Forest attack, but was let down by his control when attempting to speed away from Lindelof late on. PA -
Neco Williams (Lodi, 73) – 6 Put in an inviting cross for Lingard and drew a foul from Pellistri with a surge down the left. Lewis O’Brien (Gibbs-White, 73) – N/A Struggled to have an impact. Getty -
MANCHESTER UNITED RATINGS: David de Gea - 7 Punched a corner away on 25 and punched the Scarpa shot which followed. Forest created chances, but couldn’t put the ball past the keeper. Reuters -
Aaron Wan-Bissaka - 7 Tested for pace by Johnson and Forest’s counters in an end-to-end first half, but came through the test against a side who had not lost at home since September. PA -
Victor Lindelof - 7 Tough few minutes in the middle of the first half when Forest thought they had scored and then he missed a cross as Forest pressured. Blocked a 62nd minute Scarpa shot. Steadier in the second and played well. Getty -
Lisandro Martinez - 8 Convincing on a challenging night where Johnson’s pace tested the entire United defence. Beautiful ball forward on 59 towards Fernandes. Touched the ball 118 times – no other player had more than 89 touches. Blocked, intercepted, tackled. Reuters -
Tyrell Malacia - 7 Lively, tough tackling. Rewarded with a kiss on the head by his compatriot Weghorst after the second goal. Action Images -
Christian Eriksen - 6 Moved the ball through midfield beautifully. Beaten for pace by Johnson. Hit the crossbar on 53 in front of the 29,000 sell-out crowd. AFP -
Casemiro - 7 Struggled with Gibbs-White, who stopped him dictating play and beat him with quick turns. He got brushed off the ball too, which was surprising to see. Then he drove forward in the lead up to the second. Caught out again on the hour by Gibbs-White, yet he was still a significant influence. Getty -
Bruno Fernandes - 7 Put an early ball towards the Forest goal in a bright start. Gave the ball away three times in key positions in the first half. Crossed, shot wide, tussled and scored the third after 88, with fans singing ‘Wembley!’ Third goal in four games. AFP -
Antony - 7 Cut past Lodi and curled a shot wide on eight minutes. Did the same five minutes later. Almost got on the end of a fantastic move after 33, but it was a poor finish. A half volley was saved before Weghorst’s goal. Opportunities. Action Images -
Marcus Rashford - 8 Picked up the ball well inside his own half after six minutes, slalomed past three Forest players and shot past Hennessey for his 10th goal in ten matches, his best ever run of form. Off early, his job done. Scored in every round of the competition. Action Images -
Wout Weghorst - 8 Positioned himself well as a reference point. Showed for the ball, didn’t give it away all night, linked players into the game. Belting finish after 44 for his first United goal, a difficult follow up into the roof of the net. Encouraging night for the big man. PA -
SUBS: Alejandro Garnacho - 6 On for Rashford after 56. Conceded a free-kick on the edge of the area on 83. Not a huge impact. PA -
Fred - 6 Replaced Eriksen on 71. Energetic. And brought the game’s six Brazilians together for a chat at the end of a match where United are clear favourites to reach Wembley. Reuters -
Facundo Pellistri - N/A On for Antony on 71. He’d come off the bench and set up Rashford in the previous round. Beautiful cross to Weghorst on 77. Got the first booking of the game. AFP -
Elanga - NA On for Weghorst after 84 and set up the third for Fernandes. AFP
“I was hoping that the ball was falling there and it did exactly.”
Weghorst has played three United games in a week. He has the trust of his manager and, asked what Erik ten Hag has instructed him to do between now and May, he responded: “Deliver and help the team.
“We were looking for a target man, that was something the club was looking for. Of course, with (Anthony) Martial there was only, like, one striker, more of a No 9. They just wanted to add one and then it's up to me and to take the chances. The opportunities are there and it’s for me to deliver, contribute and help the team in the way I'm playing, the way I am pressing.”
Asked if he could stay at United beyond his loan from Championship club Burnley, via Besiktas of Istanbul, Weghorst added: “Of course, I’ve seen how big the club is, in everything, facilities, even the quality in the team, the way we’re playing.
“There’s a lot of quality in everything and that’s something you look to work in, in a winning atmosphere. I think the first week went well and it’s up to me to deliver and contribute and to help the team as good as I can. I’m quite confident I can play a role in it. It’s a massive club so I will try to do everything as good as I can and if it will work out it will be a good option.”
Ten Hag gave his thoughts on his new striker, saying: “He has a really good scoring record.
“For strikers it’s always important to score. So it’s important for him, for his confidence and the way he scored that goal. And this is one of the ways to score goals: by being in the box, being present.
“I think he did a great job at Crystal Palace and Arsenal with pressing, with targets and movements. The goal from Bruno at Crystal Palace, he was part of it because he makes the right movement to the front post. The goal of Rashford at Arsenal, he was part of it by dragging the centre half away. But strikers are there to score goals and when they don’t score they’re not happy.”
Rashford is happy that Weghorst frees up space, and the Mancunian has made a strong impression on the Dutchman.
“You see the great run he’s in to, he’s delivering, every week you see it in training, he’s got a lot of quality,” said Weghorst.
“He’s also a really good guy, a really open guy. He was the first one who came to me when I scored my goal. We have a good relationship; you see the qualities he has. He’s extremely important for us, the way we play, he’s a massive part.”
