Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo hailed his side’s improved set-pieces as a key factor in their first win over Manchester United at Old Trafford in 30 years.
Defender Nikola Milenkovic found the net from a corner after just 90 seconds as Forest won 3-2 to hand United boss and Espirito Santo compatriot Ruben Amorim his second defeat.
Morgan Gibbs-White and Chris Wood also scored, with the latter carving his name into the history books to become Forest’s all-time Premier League goalscorer.
Hoylund had equalized for United a quarter of the time after Milenkovic’s opener and Bruno Fernandes – who was partly to blame for Gibbs-White’s strike almost immediately after the restart – hit back for the hosts.
Nikola Milenkovic scores his FIRST goal for Nottingham Forest! ⚽⚡ pic.twitter.com/Ni1AMQBydE
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 7, 2024
But Forest held on for a famous win, much to the delight of their manager.
“(We showed) the cohesion, the belief, the desire to improve and the belief that we can go and compete with any team,” Espirito Santo told Sky Sports.
“The start of the match is very important. How we start is a huge detail and changes everything.
“We know United are a big team and they were going to respond. In the first half we were not completely organized. The start of the second half was huge.
“Well it means a lot. The path we are trying to take together makes sense as long as everyone believes it. Even if you come from the bench, you can play your part.”
On the importance of set-piece situations, the Forest boss added: “We always try to be consistent in our set-pieces. This is something we have improved on. Thank God it came out right because we spend a lot of time in training trying to repeat.
“The only thing I think we should have done better was counter-attacking. We didn’t achieve too much.
“But the unity of the team was good.”
A birthday present for our record @PremierLeague scorer. 🎁 pic.twitter.com/YjaLTPGOzk
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) December 7, 2024
Gibbs-White also praised striker Wood and admitted he enjoys playing with the 33-year-old.
“I love working with Woody (Wood). He’s an incredible forward to work with,” Gibbs-White said.
“I know exactly where he will be, what he will do. He’s always picking off defenders, getting forward. I picked him nicely but, to be fair to him, he did all the work.
“I love playing with him right now.”
