Ruben Amorim suffered his second successive defeat as Manchester United manager and his first at Old Trafford as Nottingham Forest won 3-2 in a thriller at Old Trafford.
Amorim’s side conceded early in both halves to compound their midweek defeat at Arsenal as Nikola Milenkovic, Morgan Gibbs-White and Chris Wood scored for the visitors to claim a first win on United’s turf for three decades.
Rasmus Hojlund and Bruno Fernandes found the net for the hosts on a day when the Red Devils paid tribute to their long-time and much-loved receptionist Kath Phipps, who died this week aged 85.
For Forest, it was their second trip to Manchester in four days after losing 3-0 to Manchester City on Wednesday. But, this time, the visitor’s journey to the city was much happier.
WIN AT OLD TRAFFORD. 😍 pic.twitter.com/VjPy0NPIRC
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) December 7, 2024
United were twice fouled by corners against the Gunners and were punished again from a set-piece when the towering Nikola Milenkovic rose to head home from a corner inside 90 seconds.
It was the Serbian international’s first goal at Forest and the worst possible start for Amorim’s side.
The visitors have shown on several occasions this term that they can hold on to a lead, so moments later it was no surprise to see a wall of blue shirts spring up to block Amad Diallo’s low strike from a routine set piece.
But Forsest were not in front for long when, on 18 minutes, Alejandro Garnacho’s effort was pushed into the path of Rasmus Hojlund by goalkeeper Matz Sels.
The Danish striker was on hand to stroke the ball into the back of the net to level the scores.
From there, it was something of a tug-of-war between the two teams.
Jota Silva, nicknamed ‘Portuguese Jack Grealish’ due, in part, to his physical resemblance to the Manchester City man, hit the post with a header just before the half-hour mark.
United then returned the favor when Bruno Fernandes’ free-kick was headed home by Sels five minutes before half-time.
“He did Andre Onana a complete injustice” 😬
Morgan Gibbs-White puts Nottingham Forest ahead again 🌳 pic.twitter.com/BNt6RtetxC
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 7, 2024
But immediately after the break Forest repeated the antics of the first half when Morgan Gibbs-White slotted past Andre Onana after Fernandes gave the ball away cheaply to Callum Hudson-Odoi.
The winger played the ball into the Forest number 10, who unleashed a fierce drive that the United stopper failed to stop.
The in-form Chris Wood, who was celebrating his 33rd birthday, soon increased Forest’s advantage when he headed home a deep Gibbs-White cross.
The ball eluded everyone before dropping into the far side of the net to give Wood his 10th league goal of the season and see him become Forest’s top scorer in the Premier League era.
The run from Amad Diallo ⚡
The finish from Bruno Fernandes 🎯 pic.twitter.com/LLevm7e2VG— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 7, 2024
Fernandez then atoned for his earlier error by pulling a goal back, sweeping the ball home after good work by Diallo in the build up.
Out of nowhere, the game had become a thriller. Dalot and Diallo both had half chances as the visitors looked to seal the match.
Substitutes Marcus Rashford and Lisandro Martinez then saw the volleys fire but Forest held on to end a 30-year wait for a win at Old Trafford.
