Nottingham Forest defeated Manchester United 2-1 on Saturday in Nottingham, England, with Nicolas Dominguez and Morgan Gibbs-White scoring the winning goals. The loss leaves United in seventh place with 31 points from 20 games, marking their 14th defeat of the season across all competitions. This is the most losses they’ve had by this point in the season since 1930-31, according to manager Erik ten Hag.
Ten Hag expressed disappointment with the loss, stating that it was unnecessary and that the team lacked energy and investment in the first half. However, he acknowledged an improvement in the second half while maintaining that the results are below their standards.
Forest’s victory over United was their first league win against the team since 1994 and their first home victory in the Premier League era, pleasing newly appointed manager Nuno Espirito Santo. United midfielder Christian Eriksen commented on the inconsistent performance, expressing disappointment with the aim of getting three points but ultimately leaving with none.
Following a 3-2 home win over Aston Villa, United struggled in the game against Forest, with Dominguez breaking the deadlock with a shot in the 64th minute. Marcus Rashford managed to equalize with a goal in the 78th minute, but Gibbs-White’s goal on the counter-attack quickly sealed the victory for Forest.
The win brings Forest to 15th place with 20 points after 20 matches, five points clear of the drop zone. Nuno, who replaced Steve Cooper, expressed gratitude to the team for trusting in the game plan, leading to improved performances.
Rashford struggled up front for United, and the team, which has already been eliminated from Europe and the League Cup, missed several last-gasp chances to equalize. Eriksen had a close effort that rolled just wide of the net seconds before the final whistle.
(Reporting by Lori Ewing; Editing by Ken Ferris)
