21 December 2022

Manchester United and Forest progress but Brighton shocked by Charlton

21 December 2022

Marcus Rashford scored a superb solo effort as Manchester United moved into the Carabao Cup quarter-finals with a 2-0 victory over Burnley at Old Trafford.

Returning to action after the World Cup – and for their first match since Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure – United went ahead in the 27th minute through a close-range finish from Christian Eriksen.

The advantage was then doubled 12 minutes into the second half when Rashford, scorer of three goals for England in Qatar, darted from his own half into the visitors’ box before drilling into the net.

Vincent Kompany’s Championship table-topping Burnley threatened a number of times in attack – and almost benefited from some errors by United goalkeeper Martin Dubravka – but could not spring an upset.

Elsewhere, three days after Alexis Mac Allister won the World Cup with Argentina, his Brighton team-mates were on the wrong end of a penalty shoot-out defeat.

The stakes may not have been quite so high, but nonetheless the Premier League Seagulls came a cropper at League One Charlton.

While Mac Allister partied in Buenos Aires, having been given a fortnight off following his heroics in Qatar, the rest of the Brighton team faced a far less appealing trip to chilly south-east London.

And when Addicks keeper Ashley Maynard-Brewer saved Moises Caicedo’s penalty, Sam Lavelle hit the winning spot-kick as Charlton reached the last eight, 4-3 on penalties, after a goalless draw.

Brennan Johnson’s brace and a goal apiece for Jesse Lingard and Taiwo Awoniyi lifted Nottingham Forest to a 4-1 victory at Blackburn.

Forest went ahead when Johnson struck from the spot in the 13th minute after being upended in the box by Scott Wharton, who made amends for conceding the penalty by levelling on the stroke of half-time.

However, Lingard and Awoniyi struck after the break before Johnson bookended the scoring to lift Forest into the quarter-finals of this competition for the first time since 1994.

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