Man United 2-3 Nottingham Forest: United's broken mentality takes Forest into fifth

Nuno Espirito Santo earned his first-ever win against Manchester United as Nottingham Forest beat Ruben Amorim's side to go fifth in the Premier League table. 

Despite finishing just six points above the relegation zone last season, Forest have made a spectacular start to the 2024-25 campaign and continued that run of form with a victory against Man United on Saturday, which was the club's first victory at Old Trafford in 30 years. 

Nikola Milenkovic had opened the scoring from a corner after just 91 seconds before Rasmus Hojlund levelled the game up before the 20-minute mark with a rebound tap-in.

Despite both teams hitting the woodwork through the first half, there wasn’t another goal until the 47th minute when Morgan Gibbs-White beat United goalkeeper Andre Onana with a swivelling shot to put his side into the lead once again.

Chris Wood expanded the visitors’ lead with a header less than eight minutes later which put Forest 3-1 up and solidified his side’s hope of returning into the top six of the table.

Bruno Fernandes did manage to pull one back just after the hour mark, but Forest defended really well and, paired with Nuno’s defensive changes, made United’s job of a comeback almost impossible.

Forest, who had lost 12 of the last 13 meetings against United before Saturday, advanced into fifth place, just two points behind Arsenal before they take on Fulham on Sunday. 

And despite Amorim’s hopes of progression in the league table, his side remained in 13th on just 19 points.

• Story of the Match

In United’s defeat to Arsenal earlier on in the week, they conceded two goals which both came from set-pieces, and the same event unfolded at Old Trafford just 91 seconds into the game when Forest took the lead. 

The early yielding of a corner was a vague symbol of reactive defending and positive decision-making. However, it wasn’t until the ball was halfway into the box when Lisandro Martinez, returning after serving a one-game suspension, was belittled by Milenkovic's sheer size and physical dominance.  

The Serbia defender hadn’t scored this season until his header rifted the net, but his side, led by Nuno, have now managed to break the deadlock in 12 of their 15 Premier League fixtures so far this season. 

But despite the early lead, United recovered well and managed to level the game on 17 minutes after Manuel Ugarte picked Alejandro Garnacho out perfectly with a cutting-edge pass diagonally through the middle of the box. 

It would have been a phenomenal assist had Garnacho not taken a heavy maiden touch, but Matt Sels made a great save when the Argentina international tried to poke his way to an equaliser.

At Forest’s misfortune however, the praise for the Belgian goalkeeper’s denial was all washed away when Hojlund was there at the right time to tap in the leveller.

Both sides had multiple chances in the first half which could’ve ended up adjusting the scoreline, and United had the better of the two. 

Despite Sels not being able to get to United's first goal, which fell at Hojlund’s feet, he made the best save of the game just four minutes from the interval when Fernandes took over a free kick from 25 yards out. 

The United midfielder was supplemented by a minor touch from the Forest wall, but ultimately couldn’t get enough dip on the set-piece which could have given his side an important lead going into the break. 

The visitors also hit the frame of the goal at the other end of the pitch earlier on when Jota Silva, minutes after being elbowed accidentally by Matthijs De Ligt which instigated blood, headed towards goal at the conclusion of a Murillo free-kick. 

The second half started just as the first did and it was Forest who landed the first blow once again when Gibbs-White managed to put his side ahead in the 47th minute. 

Fernandes gave the ball away in his own half leading up to the third goal of the evening, and it gave Callum Hudson-Odoi the opportunity to supply Gibbs-White, who was waiting in the centre of the pitch, on the edge of the box.

The 24-year-old, whose importance has been large since joining Forest in 2022, hit the ball in a way which made it awkward for Onana and scored to double his side’s tally.

• United’s broken confidence is Forest’s gift

That goal made United tumble, and it was evident when Forest went 3-1 up inside less than eight minutes later.

In particular, it was Onana who seemed much less confident than he was at the start of the game, where he was rarely tested due to United’s dominance. 

Gibbs-White was the influence again, receiving the ball on the right from Jota Silva and crossing superbly towards the back post where Wood headed towards goal.

Onana was the first man to be beaten, but then Martinez also looked to have let the ball roll past him, allowing for it to trickle into the net which caused United boss Amorim to rub his eyes in disbelief. 

Despite the ugly 15 minutes that followed the second-half kicking off, Fernandes did pull one back just after the hour with a tremendous strike which narrowed the deficit and changed the momentum of the game. 

It started with the goalscorer when Fernandes sliced a low pass to Amad Diallo, who was making a pacy run down the right side. 

A flurry of Forest shirts crowded Amad when he drove towards goal, which allowed Fernandes to make space and run towards the edge of the box where he picked up the ball.

From there, it was a classic Fernandes goal in the way he took a touch and tucked the ball into the bottom left corner despite the ball curling from the inside out. 

United continued to press and try for at least an equaliser but Nuno made sure his team wouldn’t waste the opportunity to take three points from Old Trafford in a bid to be in the top five of the Premier League table.

It was a positive performance for United despite the result, but their league position shows signs of stagnation - or worse - decline.

For Forest, this victory will raise their ambition and standards after a win that was thoroughly deserved.