Manchester United were beaten 3-2 by Nottingham Forest as Ruben Amorim lost for the first time at Old Trafford.
Nikola Milenkovic headed Forest into the lead within two minutes, but United responded through Rasmus Hojlund and handed the lead back to Nuno Espirito Santo's side early in the second half after a bizarre display of goalkeeping from Andre Onana.
Morgan Gibbs-White's swerved shot completely wrong-footed him and found its way into the net, and when Chris Wood doubled Forest's lead shortly afterwards, it seemed that the game was quickly out of sight of Ruben Amorim and his players would disappear.
Bruno Fernandes pulled one back for United with a neat finish but was subsequently substituted and United subsequently lacked the creativity needed to find the equalizer against a resilient Forest team holding on for their first win at Old Trafford in 30 years.
Nuno's team is fifth in the Premier League. As for United, they are in 13th place. Amorim had only lost back-to-back top league matches once before in his coaching career. It didn't take long before he experienced that at Manchester United.
Analyzing Onana's big mistake
Nottingham Forest goalscorer Morgan Gibbs White talks to Sky Sports:
“I didn't [think it was going in] completely, to be honest. “I don't want to discredit Onana, he's a great goalkeeper, but when I had the shot I thought he would pick it up.”
Former Man Utd defender Phil Jones to Sky Sports:
“What I'm saying is, he's going to be disappointed with that. It's going to be a tough watch. It's one of those knuckles, but he should pull it off.”
“He made a mistake, but he has been one of the better goalkeepers this season.”
Sky Sports' Jamie Redknapp's take on the mistake:
'You can't defend him there. He falls backwards, his balance is wrong, his weight is on his heels.
“I have never played in goal, I have not even done it in training. But that is fundamentally bad goalkeeping. You can talk about tactical adjustments all you want, but that goal changed everything. You are in the background.”
Nuno: Gibbs-White's goal changed that
Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo in his press conference:
“If you tell me the moment that changed everything, it is the moment we recovered the ball very high and scored [the second goal]. Then we scored again. We thought United would respond and then it was about unity, about hard work.
“It was a demanding match. Fresh legs helped a bit. The energy really affected the match. But I think we were brave, especially at the beginning of the second half. It was very nice to see how the players progressed went and recovered.”
“It means a lot to the club. So much time for special moments like this. We have to celebrate and be proud of ourselves. I am very proud to be part of this group of players and the squad. We are trying to do something together, something nice.”
Amorim: Onana saved us a lot
Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim speaks at his press conference:
“Onana has saved us many times, so we have to find a way if this happens to Anana or Altay. [Bayindir]or to Tom [Heaton]we have to turn around and score two goals to help our goalkeeper. The same way he saved us, for example in Ipswich. We lose as a team.”
About suffering consecutive defeats…
“I had this and even worse at Sporting in the beginning. I know the feeling is the same for me. For the world it is completely different because you know Sporting is in Portugal, but in Manchester you have a lot of attention, but for It's the same for me. The same feeling.
“I had this period at Sporting. And if you have a little experience in football, this happens at many clubs. And we have to manage to keep doing the same things and improve the team because this will change. So we have time necessary and we must continue to work in the same way every day.”
Mistakes undermine Amorim's plans
Amorim has certainly changed the playing style at United, and also the formation. They are trying to be more patient, but this defeat is a real setback. There was a noticeable uncertainty and lack of belief as they chased the game in the latter stages.
At Ipswich, a large part of the ball possession was in their own half. Here they were able to get closer to the opponent's goal, with 71.6 percent possession of the ball. For context: they only had that much ball possession under Erik ten Hag once, in a defeat against Crystal Palace.
But the lack of creativity was alarming, especially after Fernandes withdrew. United were also undoubtedly smothered by Nuno's impressive game management. His careful substitutions ensured that Harry Maguire had time on the ball. He couldn't use it.
Amorim will want to turn United into a team that can dominate the ball with confidence and the example of the first goal – Matthijs de Ligt passes through to lead to the move – will be one he will point to as evidence that this is possible is. effective.
But what followed was a reminder that this team is still too fragile, prone to inexplicable mistakes that can undermine the best-laid plans. It will take time to get this job done right. And their next Premier League match is the Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium, live on Sky Sports
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