Nottingham Forest made it nine games unbeaten at the City Ground in the Premier League after a narrow 1-0 win against a toothless Manchester United side.
Anthony Elanga came back to haunt his former club after his sensational solo strike in the 5th minute proved to be the all-decisive winner.
Embed from Getty ImagesAs it happened
It was a blistering start at the City Ground, with the first chance falling to Ruben Amorim’s side in the 4th minute. After Elliot Anderson was dispossessed in the middle of the pitch, the Red Devils quickly sought to work an attacking opportunity. They played it forwards to Bruno Fernandes, who left fly from 20 yards out, forcing Matz Sels to push it wide for a United corner.
Yet just 16 seconds after the away side’s set-piece, it was Forest who opened the scoring in incredible fashion. Following his initial corner, Fernandes’ cross in the second phase was headed clear again by Ryan Yates. It landed to Anthony Elanga who then single-handedly launched and finished a blistering counter-attack to punish his former side.
From his own half, the Swedish attacker brushed off a challenge from Alejandro Garnacho and drove to the edge of the United box. With Morgan Gibbs-White as an option to his left, Elanga opted to go alone and slotted a precise finish past André Onana. His opener was the 23rd time this season that Forest have gone 1-0 ahead and also the 23rd time that United have conceded the first goal in all competitions.
Embed from Getty ImagesManchester United almost grabbed an equaliser immediately after the restart. Diogo Dalot superbly beat his man down the right wing and delivered an inviting cross into the box – it was met by Fernandes but the United captain could only direct his header straight at the Forest goalkeeper.
Amorim’s side controlled possession for the majority of the first 45 minutes but were kept at arms length by an unwavering Forest defence. Their only other opportunity of the first half came from a corner when Dalot’s looped header bounced off the crossbar in the 28th minute.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe second half lacked any real quality from either side. Nuno Espírito Santo’s side sat in to protect their lead, launching the odd counter-attack, whilst United failed to generate any chances worthy of them getting back in the game.
In the dying embers of the match, it was Harry Maguire who served as United’s best attacking threat as the English centre-half was substituted on as a makeshift striker. Unsurprisingly though, he was unable to convert the two opportunities that fell to him in injury time. After failing to head home Patrick Dorgu’s clipped cross into the penalty area in the 92nd minute, Maguire then had a hooked effort cleared off the line by Murillo in the 97th minute to deny the Red Devils of a point.
Embed from Getty ImagesA third consecutive victory in the league for Forest sees them move three points closer to Champions League qualification – the Tricky Trees face a tough test away to Unai Emery’s Aston Villa on Saturday. Meanwhile, Manchester United, who are still yet to win back-to-back league games this season, will welcome local rivals Manchester City to Old Trafford on Sunday.
The lineups
NFO: Sels; Williams, Murillo, Milenković, Aina; Anderson, Yates; Danilo, Gibbs-White, Elanga; Awoniyi
MUN: Onana; Dorgu, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Yoro, Dalot; Ugarte, Casemiro; Garnacho, Zirkzee, Fernandes