Manchester United have moved to within one point of the top four in the Premier League table courtesy of a 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford.
Marcus Rashford made the breakthrough in the 19th minute before turning provider for Anthony Martial, who gave Forest a mountain to climb in the 22nd minute of the contest.
Man United then added gloss to the scoreline in the final stages when Fred picked out the back of the net with a clever finish after excellent work from Casemiro.
The result has left Erik ten Hag's side in fifth spot, just one point behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, who have played a game more than the 20-time English champions.
Forest, meanwhile, remain in 19th spot on 13 points, with Steve Cooper's side one point behind 17th-placed Everton, who lost at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Boxing Day.
Luke Shaw was at centre-back for Man United alongside the returning Raphael Varane, with Lisandro Martinez not yet ready to return following his exertions for Argentina at the World Cup, while Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire were both unwell, although the latter was named in the squad.
The first real chance of the match came in the fifth minute when Aaron Wan-Bissaka found Rashford at the far post; the England international's strike was blocked into the path of Tyrell Malacia, who saw his effort saved onto the post by Wayne Hennessey between the Forest sticks.
The relentless rainfall was making the pitch incredibly fast, with Man United certainly making the most of the playing surface by moving the ball quickly through the lines.
The home side made the breakthrough in the 19th minute of the contest when Christian Eriksen delivered a clever corner into Rashford, who picked out the back of the net with an emphatic finish from inside the box.
The Red Devils then doubled their advantage in the 22nd minute when Rashford set up Martial, who managed to find the back of the net with a low finish despite Hennessey getting a hand on the ball.
David de Gea had to get across to keep out a long-range strike from Yates in the 32nd minute, but Forest were struggling to get going at Old Trafford, with Man United comfortably the better side in the opening half.
Forest thought that they had made it 2-1 just before the interval when Willy Boly converted from close range after Yates had headed a free kick towards his teammate, but the goal was disallowed for offside following a long VAR review.
The incident appeared to give the visitors encouragement, as they continued to deliver high into the Man United penalty box, but the home side entered the interval with their two-goal lead intact.
Orel Mangala fired into the Man United side-netting early in the second half, before Antony brought a smart save from Hennessey after being found by Bruno Fernandes inside the Forest box.
Hennessey then kept out Martial just before the hour; both managers made changes in the spell that followed, with Donny van de Beek and Alejandro Garnacho entering the field for the home side.
Rashford was next to be denied by Hennessey in the 67th minute, before De Gea did well to keep out a close-range effort from Brennan Johnson down the other end of the field.
Hennessey tipped a Casemiro effort over the crossbar in the 72nd minute before Van de Beek had a goal-bound strike blocked behind for a corner during a lively period of the contest.
Maguire and Fred were next off the Man United bench in the 77th minute, and the latter completed the scoring in the 87th minute when he found the bottom corner with a clever finish after excellent work from Casemiro, who put in a man-of-the-match performance at Old Trafford.
Next up for the Red Devils is a trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers on December 31, while Forest will be bidding to return to winning ways when they host Chelsea on New Year's Day. body check tags ::
