Shocker at Old Trafford: Forest dismantle Man. United in five-goal thriller
United defeated by Nottingham Forest. Photo credit: Reuters
Published By: Kazeem Ugbodaga
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
Nottingham Forest stunned Manchester United 3-2 at Old Trafford on Saturday, climbing to fifth in the English Premier League table.
In the 2nd minute, Nikola Milenkovic gave Nottingham Forest the lead with a well-placed header from a corner, finding space in the box to plant the ball into the top corner, making it 1-0.
By the 18th minute, Manchester United had a golden opportunity when Alejandro Garnacho was set up inside the box. His low drive seemed destined for the bottom left corner, but the goalkeeper made a superb diving save to deny him.
However, moments later, Rasmus Hojlund capitalised on a rebound, firing the ball low into the middle of the net to level the score at 1-1.
In the 28th minute, Nottingham’s Jota Silva leapt to meet a lofted pass in the penalty area, but his header crashed against the right post.
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Just before the break, Bruno Fernandes almost gave United the lead with a brilliant free-kick, but his shot rattled the crossbar.
After the restart, Nottingham regained the advantage in the 47th minute when Morgan Gibbs-White latched onto a pass and struck a weak shot, but a blunder from the goalkeeper allowed the ball to roll into the back of the net, making it 2-1.
Chris Wood extended Forest’s lead in the 54th minute, meeting a cross with a perfect header that found the right post, making it 3-1.
Manchester United responded in the 61st minute when Amad Diallo pulled the ball back for Fernandes on the edge of the box, and the midfielder beat the goalkeeper with a fine strike inside the left post to reduce the deficit to 3-2.
In injury time, Lisandro Martinez had a chance to level the score when he pounced on a rebound on the edge of the box, but his shot sailed just over the crossbar as Nottingham Forest held on for a thrilling 3-2 victory.
