Manchester United endured their second consecutive defeat, losing 3-2 to Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford on Saturday, in the 15th round of the Premier League.
Nottingham Forest secured their three goals through Nikola Milenkovic, Morgan Gibbs-White, and Chris Wood, striking in the 2nd, 47th, and 54th minutes, respectively. Manchester United’s response came from Rasmus Højlund and Bruno Fernandes, who found the net in the 18th and 61st minutes.
This result lifted Nottingham Forest to 25 points, climbing to fifth place, while Manchester United remained stagnant at 19 points, dropping to 13th in the league standings.
For the second consecutive match, Manchester United fell victim to set-piece danger, with Nottingham Forest capitalizing early on a corner kick. Just 90 seconds into the game, Milenkovic-Savic connected with the delivery, sending a powerful header past goalkeeper André Onana, who was unable to stop the ball from finding the back of the net.
Manchester United nearly responded quickly to the early setback, as a swift attack saw a cross pass just in front of Hojlund, who was inches away from heading it into the goal.
Bruno Fernandes then unleashed a shot from the edge of the penalty area, but it narrowly missed Nottingham Forest’s goal.
A few minutes later, Hojlund found the equalizer after a rebound from the goalkeeper, who had denied Garnacho’s one-on-one effort, allowing Hojlund to slot it into the empty net.
Nottingham Forest’s Jota Silva came close with a header from a cross inside the United penalty area, but the ball went just wide of the right post.
Garnacho tested Forest’s goalkeeper, Mats Sels, with a close-range effort, but Sels made a brilliant save to deny him.
Fernandes also came close with a free-kick near the Nottingham Forest box, curling a beautiful shot that struck the crossbar, leaving the game level at 1-1 heading into halftime.
The second half mirrored the start of the first, as Nottingham Forest quickly reclaimed the lead with an early goal. Gibbs-White fired a low shot that took a strange deflection, fooling Onana and finding the back of the net.
Chris Wood nearly extended Nottingham Forest’s lead when he received a well-placed pass inside Manchester United’s penalty area, but his shot narrowly missed, passing just wide of the left post.
Amad Diallo attempted to bring United back into the game with a shot from the edge of the box, but Forest’s goalkeeper handled it with ease, diffusing the threat.
Nottingham Forest then shocked the home crowd with a third goal. Wood rose to meet a precise cross from the right, heading the ball past a static United defence, including De Ligt, Onana, and Martinez. The ball struck the post before ricocheting into the net, further deepening United’s woes.
However, the Red Devils responded quickly to narrow the deficit. Diallo delivered an accurate cross into the box, finding Bruno Fernandes, who struck it cleanly into the net to keep United’s hopes alive.
Diallo attempted to get on the scoresheet himself with a powerful shot from inside the penalty area, but it sailed over the crossbar, missing the target.
Nottingham Forest’s goalkeeper, Sels, made a brilliant save moments later, diving to his left to deny Dalot’s header that was destined for the corner.
Dalot tried once more to trouble the goalkeeper with a long-range effort, but his shot flew high and wide of the goal.
Rashford then had a chance to create something, meeting a cross on the edge of the penalty area with a superb volley. However, the ball deflected off a defender and went out for a corner. From the resulting set-piece, Martinez nearly scored a spectacular goal with a brilliant bicycle kick, but it flew over the bar, further frustrating United’s efforts.
