CITY GROUND, NOTTINGHAM — Manchester United brought down the curtain on their 2023 with a dour display in a defeat to relegation-battling Nottingham Forest, with Morgan Gibbs-White striking the winner.
The Red Devils approached this winless in their last four away games across all competitions, though had some renewed energy following the £1.25 billion partial takeover (25%) of the club by Jim Ratcliffe on Christmas Eve, and the remarkable 3-2 comeback victory over Aston Villa on Boxing Day.
But a horrendous first half lacked any semblance of that reinvigoration, as Erik ten Hag's men instead set about creating the cure for insomnia.
Antony, given a chance to end his 29-game goalless run as Rasmus Hojlund pulled out through illness, roamed but to very little effect. Fellow frontmen Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford also struggled for any spark. Ten Hag used his post-match press conference to bemoan the "lack of speed".
Christian Eriksen popped the ball around well at times and looked his usual self, but there was nothing at the end of the puppeteer's strings. At the back, Jonny Evans and Raphael Varane both had shaky moments, with Forest looking the more likely goal threat.
Anthony Elanga, formerly of United, understandably looked like a man on a mission as he manufactured opportunities down both flanks and applied a whole heap of pressure on the centre-backs, while also zipping in a couple of dangerous crosses.
After the break, it was much of the same, before Antony was quickly hauled off for Amad Diallo's first appearance of the season. Diallo made an instant impact by raising the tempo and making a move that led to Diogo Dalot striking the post.
But United soon settled back into their plodding pattern, and Forest deservedly took the lead through Nicolas Dominguez. His sweet strike from inside the box crept inside Andre Onana's left post. Ten Hag was serenaded with chants of "you're getting sacked in the morning" as his troops failed to respond in any meaningful manner.
Then, a late Christmas present from Matt Turner. The American goalkeeper played the ball out but Garnacho slid in to intercept before it could reach Moussa Niakhate. The sprightly young winger pounced brilliantly, playing it across to Rashford, who made no mistake as he slotted home in a rare central appearance.
United looked like they would once again steal the points, as Garnacho brilliantly latched onto a long ball and laid it off to Eriksen, who stung the palms of Turner. The visitors were finally in the mood.
That lasted all of a few seconds. Forest broke down the other end through Elanga, who deservedly got his assist for the day and showed United what they were missing. The winger squared to Gibbs-White, who responded to pre-match praise from his manager with a composed finish — like Dominguez, wide-open on the edge of the box, beating Onana to his left.
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United took control of possession but offered very little in terms of true threat to Turner's goal afterwards, save for a deflected Bruno Fernandes effort that the former Arsenal stopper did well to tip over.
Nuno Espirito Santo's men held on to clinch a second straight win and kickstart their survival push under the new boss, pulling five points clear of the relegation zone on a day when all four of the teams below them dropped points.
For United, the pressure will ramp up once again on Ten Hag, whose calendar year started so promisingly with the Carabao Cup triumph. It ends in disarray, with his team looking devoid of any imagination.
This was a ninth league loss of the campaign, as many as they suffered in the entirety of 2022/23. Sitting nine points adrift of the top four having played a game more, while already crashing out of Europe and the Carabao Cup, the FA Cup is now the only big prize left to play for at the turn of the year.
Forest made this famous old ground on the banks of the Trent a fortress last season, with notable victories over Arsenal and Liverpool. The scalp of United — for the first time in 29 years — has now been added to that, and the Reds will be confident of repeating the feat against Arsenal in their next home game, in exactly one month.
Both sides now have a two-week wait for their next league fixture, with the FA Cup third round next weekend seeing United face Wigan Athletic and Forest host Blackpool.
The Sporting News was live from the East Midlands, with score updates and the key incidents throughout the afternoon below.
FULL-TIME: It ends 2-1 to Forest! The Nuno era is up and running with back-to-back wins and it's no less than his men deserve. That was an awful performance from United.
95th min: Great reflexes from Turner to deny Fernandes, whose deflected effort was tough to deal with but is tipped over.
90th min: Boos ring out as 10 minutes of stoppage time is added on here. Luckily for those Forest fans, United don't look likely to capitalise.
82nd min: GOAL! Gibbs-White gives Forest the lead! Elanga deservedly gets his assist after cutting in from the left, placing it into the feet of his unmarked playmaker, who finishes very well inside Onana's left post. 2-1. It came moments after Eriksen stung Turner's palms at the other end.
78th min: GOAL! United are back level through Rashford and it was simply gifted to them. Turner's pass out was intercepted by Garnacho, who slide it across to a wide-open Rashford to slot into the bottom corner. 1-1.
72nd min: United have responded to the setback with very little invention or urgency. The Forest fans, predictably, are serenading Ten Hag with "you're getting sacked in the morning". It wouldn't be surprising if Dominguez's strike is the only one of the game at this rate.
63rd min: GOAL! Dominguez puts Forest in front! Elanga on the left wing finds Montiel inside, and the Argentinian in turn squares for his compatriot. A lovely first-time right-footed effort is slotted past Onana from the edge of the box, and it's a deserved lead. 1-0.
60th min: This game finally has a spark, with a host of fiery incidents and the crowd going up a gear. Gibbs-White, Dalot and Varane are all booked in quick succession for meaty challenges
55th min: Dalot hits the post! Out of nowhere, the Portuguese strikes from the edge of the area to beat Turner but his left post keeps out the sweet effort.
54th min: Like the first half, Forest have started the second as the better side. No shots as yet, but both Aina and Niakhate have made dangerous runs down the flank to create a little panic in the United backline. Meanwhile, Antony has been substituted off for Diallo.
46th min: The second half is underway. Ten Hag has made one change at the break, with McTominay on for Mainoo in midfield.
HALF-TIME: Nuno will be pleased with how easily his side have contained United, but will surely be partly frustrated that Forest haven't put their foot down at times to really punish this horrid United performance. It's goalless at the break.
45th min: Mercifully, the referee has added only one minute of stoppage time to this snoozefest.
36th min: United do not look like a side with fresh impetus after that comeback four days ago. Devoid of any imagination in the final third, this game is petering towards half-time with a whimper.
28th min: Eriksen is starting to get his foot on the ball and dictate the tempo as United begin to camp out in the Forest half. That's until Evans is caught in possession by Elanga, who understandably looks up for this game, and lead to some Forest respite with a couple of minutes peppering the box.
19th min: The visitors have calmed the game slightly, aside from one more dangerous cross from Elanga which evades everyone as it zooms across the box.
11th min: United look like conceding soon. Varane nearly scores an own goal with the latest Forest attack from former United man Elanga, whose cross is fluffed at by the France international.
7th min: No clear-cut chances so far, but Forest have made more inroads, with Wood and Gibbs-White threatening and firing off shots.
KICK-OFF: We're underway at an incredibly loud City Ground.
20 mins to KO: Results elsewhere today have gone Forest's way, with none of the four teams below them winning, though Burnley did take an unexpected point at Villa. A victory over United would lift the Reds above Brentford, who also lost today to Crystal Palace.
Forest made this famous old ground a fortress last term — claiming impressive scalps versus Arsenal and Liverpool along the way — but their form of late has been incredibly poor. The last four home games have ended in defeat, while the four before that saw just one win.
40 mins to KO: Hojlund's absence means Marcus Rashford starts up top for the visitors, while Antony gets a chance out wide on the left. The former has made a couple of substitute appearances centrally of late, but his last league start there came in a 3-1 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion in September. The one before that was a 2-0 loss at Tottenham Hotspur.
Meanwhile, the Brazilian's league campaign has been even worse than the two-goal, two-assist return of Rashford. Indeed, Antony is yet to make a single goal contribution across his 15 appearances, 10 of which came as a starter. He did score here last season, though.
1 hour to KO: Team news is in. Luke Shaw was expected to return for United alongside Sofyan Amrabat, but both miss out for a second straight game. For Forest, Willy Boly only makes the bench after returning from a ban.
Nottingham Forest XI: Turner (GK) — Montiel, Niakhate, Murillo, Aina — Yates, Danilo — Elanga, Gibbs-White, Dominguez — Wood.
Man United XI: Onana (GK) — Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Evans, Dalot — Eriksen, Mainoo — Garnacho, Fernandes, Antony — Rashford.
1 hour 5 mins to KO: Breaking news here is that Rasmus Hojlund, the hero of Boxing Day with his first Premier League goal, is not with the squad this evening. The Denmark international misses out through illness. Team news is five minutes away.
1 hour 20 mins to KO: Morgan Gibbs-White was sensational in the second half of last season, particularly showing up in the big games at the City Ground. However, the former Wolves man has produced just four goal contributions so far this term, struggling slightly under Cooper. Now linking up with his former Molineux boss, Gibbs-White has impressed Nuno in the last two games.
The Portuguese said: “Morgan had an amazing game at Newcastle, but also against Bournemouth. He started in a more advanced position, he dropped into midfield and he delivered, he fights. Morgan is quality, he has the talent and special abilities to help the team.”
1 hour 40 mins to KO: Reflecting on his team’s comeback against Villa, Ten Hag told MUTV: “The determination, the resilience: this team is strong. They have the personalities to deal with setbacks. And we have had so many across the season. You don't want to have such bad experiences, but we have had them and we have dealt with them.”
There certainly have been setbacks aplenty. If United can win today, it will mark only the third time this term they’ve enjoyed back-to-back league victories — and the first time any of those such runs have involved an opponent in the top half of the table (Villa).
2 hours to KO: Hello and welcome to the Sporting News' live coverage from the City Ground. Since Forest returned to the Premier League last season, this fixture has been utterly dominated by United.
Three league victories, plus a 5-0 aggregate win across their Carabao Cup semi-final legs, made grim reading for Steve Cooper. Nuno has a poor record against the Red Devils himself, winless in his last seven while coaching Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Nottingham Forest vs Man United lineupsNottingham Forest XI: Turner (GK) — Montiel, Niakhate, Murillo, Aina — Yates, Danilo — Elanga, Gibbs-White, Dominguez — Wood.
Man United XI: Onana (GK) — Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Evans, Dalot — Eriksen, Mainoo — Garnacho, Fernandes, Antony — Rashford.
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