The Nottingham Forest vs Manchester United Premier League match at the City Ground ended in a 2-2 draw on Saturday, November 1. The draw meant that Manchester United are now in seventh position in the Premier League table with 17 points from 10 matches.
The Nottingham Forest vs Manchester United match was an entertaining one, with United taking the lead in the first half, and Forest scoring twice in quick succession at the beginning of the second. The Red Devils then equalised through Amad Diallo to restore parity and earn a point.
Nottingham Forest vs Manchester United Showed Areas the Red Devils Can Improve Upon
In the Nottingham Forest vs Manchester United game, Ruben Amorim’s men had to deal with the hosts’ incisive passing and pace throughout the match, with Callum Hudson-Odoi repeatedly troubling the Red Devils’ defence with his speedy runs. Moreover, as Bruno Fernandes played in the double-pivot in the midfield, he simply did not have the luxury of surging forward repeatedly through the middle.
That meant that United had to depend mostly on diagonal balls to either flank from deep to create their attacks. The two wingers, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, worked tirelessly by moving up and down.
Benjamin Sesko started dropping deep to fill the gap in the central midfield pocket, but did not look comfortable doing so. Sesko is a striker who is comfortable inside the opposition penalty box, but cannot be trusted to exchange passes with aplomb with the wingers.
It was only when Fernandes moved forward and Amad Diallo made overlapping runs, United looked the part. Their first goal also came from a corner that was won through such a combined move. Casemiro scored once again with a header to put the visitors ahead.
However, Manchester United’s aerial defending left a lot to be desired, as they conceded in quick succession. Amad failed to mark a considerably bigger Forest forward in Morgan Gibbs-White, as the latter scored the equaliser. United then failed to defend a cross yet again, as Luke Shaw and Diogo Dalot could not stop Forest from scoring their second goal.
United lacked an attacking player who could come on from the bench to aid the attack, as neither Mason Mount nor Joshua Zirkzee were deemed good enough by Ruben Amorim. Mount and Zirkzee have a solitary goal between them in 13 combined appearances this season.
Patrick Dorgu and Noussair Mazraoui were introduced for Dalot and Lenny Yoro, respectively, in the second half, with the latter given the duty to attack through the inside-right channel along with Mbeumo.
The result came almost immediately as United earned a corner and Amad finished brilliantly from outside the box with his left foot. Still, bringing in a defender to boost the team’s attack does not seem to be a very good idea.
Aside from looking shaky when defending against aerial balls, Amad was really good once again. It is a pity that he is being used as a wing-back instead of playing as an out-and-out attacking player. He could have scored again, but his shot was cleared off the goal line by Nottingham Forest defenders to deny United a win.
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A Big Game Incoming
The point earned in the Nottingham Forest vs Manchester United match was crucial, as the Red Devils prepare to face sixth-placed Tottenham Hotspur next.
Tottenham lost to Chelsea on Saturday and will be raring to go against United. Their recent record against the Red Devils is really good. It remains to be seen whether Amorim’s men can give a good account of themselves against Spurs.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / Every Second Media
Recording Date: 01.11.2025