Manchester United handed a 3-0 defeat Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford in the Premier League. Goals from Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, and Fred secured the victory. Erik ten Hag chose to start Luke Shaw alongside Raphael Varane at the heart of our defence for the final time at the Theatre of Dreams in 2022, and the pair performed admirably throughout the 90 minutes.
After 19 minutes, Rashford scored with a clever finish. A few minutes later, Martial added a second, cleverly slamming home after a superb counter-attack. Substitute Fred scored our third goal near the end of the game.
United remained in fifth place after defeating Steve Cooper’s men, who had a goal disallowed by VAR before the break. United piled on the pressure early on, with Tyrell Malacia firing a left-footed effort goalwards, forcing Forest goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey into early action with the help of his right-hand post.
The Reds took the lead after 19 minutes, with Rashford scoring his 10th goal of the season. Christian Eriksen cleverly picked out our no.10 from a corner kick, with the forward curling the ball across Hennessey and into the back of the net. Our lead was quickly doubled, with Ten Hag’s men’s all-around play a sight to behold in M16. The move began with Casemiro’s fantastic tackle, as United broke forward on the counter attack. Rashford then took the role of provider, laying the ball into the path of Martial, who scored our second goal of the evening.
Manchester United vs Nottingham Forest Live 2-0 #MUNNFO #MUFC #MU #oldtrafford pic.twitter.com/mP4VL4midv
— Bethany Chew (@ChEwHuiiJiA) December 27, 2022
As the first half progressed, Ryan Yates tried his luck from distance, but David De Gea was up to the task, pushing the ball away from danger.
Yates thought he had cut the visitors’ deficit in half before the break when he nodded home a free-kick. However, following a lengthy VAR review, it was determined that defender Willy Boly received the final touch and was in an offside position, so the score remained 2-0.
As the second half began at Old Trafford, Antony came close to adding a third goal for the Reds. Fernandes found the Brazilian inside the area after good work by Rashford, before Hennessey kept his effort out. Martial almost scored his second goal of the evening, breaking the offside trap to spring in behind, only for Forest’s ever-busy shot-stopper to be called into action once more.
Ten Hag chose to rearrange things as the game entered its final 20 minutes of play, and the game was never truly put to rest. As Antony and Martial arrived, Alejandro Garnacho and Donny van de Beek were introduced. With our lead still at two, Forest posed a threat. Brennan Johnson’s clever flick was dealt with wisely by David De Gea, before Remo Frueler’s tame follow-up failed to thoroughly test our Spanish keeper. Rashford’s unsuccessful handball shout in the other box preceded that incident.
As the Reds continued their search for a third goal, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Casemiro linked up. Hennessey flipped over the latter’s chipped effort and out for a corner, but the pressure eventually caught up with him. With three minutes remaining, Fred added a third goal to cap off an impressive performance. After intercepting the ball in midfield, Casemiro drove forward before smartly playing through his countryman, who buried a smart left-foot finish.
MATCH DETAILS-
United: De Gea; Malacia, Varane (Maguire, 76), Shaw, Wan-Bissaka; Casemiro, Eriksen (Fred, 76); Antony (Garnacho, 64), Fernandes, Rashford (Elanga, 85); Martial (Van de Beek, 64).
Subs not used: Heaton, Bennett, Williams, Iqbal.
Goals: Rashford 19, Martial 22, Fred 87.
Booked: Malacia, Eriksen, Garnacho.
Forest: Hennessey, Worrall ©, Mangala (Dennis, 61), Awoniyi (Surridge, 61) Lingard (O’Brien, 53), Johnson, Yates, Freuler, Aurier, Boly, Lodi (Toffolo, 61).
Subs not used: Smith, Cook, Williams, Colback, McKenna.
Booked: Mangala
