Nottingham Forest 0-2 Manchester United (Antony ’32, Dalot 76’)
Manchester United took advantage of Newcastle and Tottenham’s slip-ups on Saturday to saunter into third place and take a big step towards Champions League qualification at the expense of Nottingham Forest.
In a game that won’t be remembered as a classic by either set of fans, Antony put United on the path to three points with his first league goal since October. He bundled in on 32 minutes after Keylor Navas had done well to block Anthony Martial’s drive.
Diogo Dalot got his first Premier League goal on his 100th game when feeding off a delightful Antony through-ball in the second half.
Forest may argue they should have had two penalties before the break. The first, a Harry Maguire handball, went to VAR and was denied. The second, a Maguire handball, didn’t even need a check.
Navas twice denied Bruno Fernandes in the second half, while Taiwo Awoniyi missed Forest’s biggest chance on a flat afternoon that was crying out for a home hero.
Felipe thought he was that man, but sent a header from a corner over the bar from two yards out when the game was still in the balance.
Here’s how every player rated from the clash at the City Ground:
Nottingham Forest player ratings
Keylor Navas – Produced great saves to deny Sancho and Fernandes early on but could do nothing about the opening goal. Was there to deny Fernandes in the second half too. Despite the goals it was a steady performance from the goalkeeper. 8
Felipe – Reactive to numerous United attacks and had to deal with Martial for most of the day. Fared well and could have levelled with a header late on. 7
Moussa Niakhate – Made the blunder while in possession that led to United’s opener. Didn’t have much cover from the midfield and it cost Forest. 6
Scott McKenna – Was forced to cover across the defence and was there for some late blocks, but was firefighting against Antony for most of the game. 6
Neco Williams – Never really had the better of Sancho and spent much of the game chasing the ball. 5
Remo Freuler – Like Danilo he spent much of the game chasing shadows, with United’s midfield controlling the flow of play. 5
Danilo – Ran around chasing Eriksen for most of the game and offered very little when on the ball. 5
Renan Lodi – Absent for much of the game. Failed to support the front two when required, and was pinned back for the majority. 5
Morgan Gibbs-White – Did very little to provide service for the front men, with Casemiro there to shut him down time and again. 6
Brennan Johnson – Stretched the play and had the run on the United defence a few times, but never really had his chance to thrill the City Ground. Lacked service. 6
Taiwo Awoniyi – Got the turn on Maguire to force an early booking but skied a golden chance before the break. 7
Manchester United player ratings
David de Gea – As usual he didn’t look comfortable at the set piece and his reticence meant United were panicky whenever a high ball was lofted in. Perhaps United should have swapped him for Navas when they had the chance eight years ago. 6
Diogo Dalot – Back in the XI after being benched for United’s last two games, Dalot filled in wherever he was required and was never really troubled. Deserved to score for his attacking persistence that didn’t yield all day. 8
Victor Lindelof – Kept the shape but a better attack would have tested his relationship with Maguire to a far greater extreme. 6
Harry Maguire – Booked three minutes in, survived a VAR check for handball in the box, and deflected a Forest corner onto the post. All in a day’s work. Despite this, Maguire had a good enough game against blunt opposition. 6
Aaron Wan-Bissaka – The better of United’s four defenders, Wan-Bissaka had an eye on both Awoniyi and Lodi. He kept the latter quiet, which was impressive considering Antony provided little protection. 7
Christian Eriksen – Didn’t need to get out of first gear and still ran the game. Well balanced alongside Casemiro who was there to do the dirty work. It gave Eriksen the freedom to push forward and link up with Fernandes. 8
Casemiro – Looked comfortable alongside Eriksen and didn’t have much trouble matching up to Forest’s midfield. A typically high-class game from the Brazilian. 8
Jadon Sancho – Missed a sitter less than two minutes into the game and failed to exert the influence on proceedings that his talent is capable of. A disappointing afternoon. 6
Bruno Fernandes – Forced a good save out of Navas and helped create the opening goal, could have scored himself but sent one header wide, and saw a thunderbolt tipped onto the bar. 8
Antony – Scrambled when required to get the opening goal and was a fairly persistent nuisance all afternoon. A delightful assist for Dalot’s strike. 8
Anthony Martial – Should arguably have scored the opener but saw his shot saved. Martial stretched the line well for United and kept clear of Forest’s Felipe and Niakhate for as long as he could. 7
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/q8lXomk
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