Roy Keane says he deserved the PUNCH he took from Brian Clough

Erik ten Hag moved one step closer to winning the silver medal in his debut season at Manchester United, when his team thrashed Nottingham Forest 3-0 in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final on Wednesday.

The Red Devils take a healthy lead in the second leg at Old Trafford and look set to return to Wembley, thanks to first-half goals from Marcus Rashford and Wout Weghorst and a late goal from Bruno Fernandes.

Here, Sportsmail’s TOM COLLOMOSSE outlines some of the key talking points and things you might have missed from the City Ground…

Keane: I deserved to get hit by Clough

In one of their most high-profile encounters of modern times, there were plenty of reminders of Forest’s glorious past.

Stuart Pearce and Steve Hodge, part of the 1989 and 1990 League Cup winning teams, shared a warm hug in the main stand an hour before kick-off.

Roy Keane was part of the Sky Sports panel, while John McGovern, Garry Birtles and Nigel Jemson still attend almost every home game.

There was even a Premier League-winning captain in Wes Morgan, though unfortunately for Forest, he lifted the trophy for East Midlands rivals Leicester in 2016.

Keane offered a brilliant insight into Brian Clough’s style. “He hit me after a game once, but it was probably the right thing to do,” he mused.

‘The strange blow did not do any damage. I took a short back pass against Crystal Palace which led to a draw, which wasn’t my fault, and after the game, he hit me!

One for the angriest fans…

Club shops can be full of weird and wonderful gifts and the dart board in the Forest shop caught the eye.

Featuring the club crest and the words ‘Nottingham Forest’ and ‘The Tricky Trees’, it can be yours for £75.

For the angriest of fans, it’s a perfect opportunity to take out their frustrations on photos of their least favorite players.

Wout’s presence gives Bruno freedom

A traditional number 9 up for Manchester United at Wout Weghorst means Bruno Fernandes has more freedom to move around the pitch and impact matches across the pitch.

Before Weghorst, Fernandes was forced to supplement the three more forwards and bombard the penalty area. But his touch map Wednesday night shows the importance of him at both ends of the field.

Nice memories for United

This was Manchester United’s first visit to the City Ground since 1999, when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored four goals in an 8-1 win for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side, though the Norwegian came on after 72 minutes.

United were on their way to a treble, Forest to the second division.

Dan is good but Casemiro is the king

Forest’s recent signing Danilo looked promising at the base of a midfield diamond, although the master of that position was in the Manchester United squad.

As if to assert his superiority, Casemiro brought his fellow Brazilian out midway through the first half to thwart a Nottingham Forest attack.

Playing at the top of the diamond, Morgan Gibbs-White asked Casemiro many questions in the first half and caused Sam Surridge Forest’s goal to result in a fraction offside.

But after winning a duel with Gibbs-White at the top of the interval, Casemiro stepped up and set Antony up for a shot that was only deflected by goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey.

Burnley loan forward Wout Weghorst did the rest to score his first United goal.