For the first time in 30 years, Nottingham Forest left Old Trafford with three points following a 3-2 Premier League victory against Manchester United.
Self-destruction was the common theme throughout, with all three goals offered up to the visitors before a shell-shocked Theatre of Dreams.
The result leaves the 20-time English champions in 13th place, and an inexcusable 16 points behind league leaders Liverpool with an extra game played.
With much to digest, here are five talking points from the latest Manchester capitulation.
The ongoing trend of individual errors at Manchester United
Regardless of the man sitting in the hot seat, weekly errors are as common as rain in the North West, with a plethora of international superstars routinely disregarding common logic.
That may seem harsh, but each of the goals conceded was avoidable, and Nuno Espirito Santo could not have dreamed of more assistance from his hosts.
The pain on Ruben Amorim’s face was evident as the Portuguese grimaced on the touchline throughout the fixture.
Despite what some may say, these footballers are capable of much better and should not require training to alleviate errors in their fundamentals.
Set-pieces continue to cause havoc
Nikola Milenkovic opened the scoring inside two minutes with the simplest of headed efforts following the game’s opening corner kick.
For those who watched the 2-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, a worrying trend regarding an inability to defend these situations is now apparent.
Furthermore, following 27 minutes of sustained pressure from the Old Trafford side, Jota Silva rattled the woodwork from another headed set-piece before Murillo fired inches wide from a second corner less than five minutes later.
Adding salt to this wound is United’s inability to beat the first man with much of their set-piece opportunities.
Among the many glaring issues presently stationed at Carrington, this ranks high on the priority list for Amorim and his trusted coaching department.
A day to forget for Andre Onana
“A goalkeeper is so important in one team. When we needed, [Andre] Onana was there,” Amorim stated after a memorable individual performance against Ipswich.
Heading into the fixture, the Cameroonian had prevented more goals than anybody else when factoring in the total number of quality shots in the Premier League.
The 28-year-old has overcome a questionable debut campaign to rank high on the list of performers for Manchester United, leading the league with six clean sheets and a catalogue of standout saves.
But, despite his regular point-winning displays throughout 2024-25, bizarre goalkeeping allowed Morgan Gibbs-White to hit Forest’s second before a trio of Onana, Lisandro Martinez, and Matthijs de Ligt gifted a tame Chris Wood header for a third.
It’s hard to write what occurred during Gibbs-White’s long-range effort, but it seemed easier to save the shot as it played out in slow motion. Given his high standards, I’m sure the keeper has already owned the mistakes and is keen to move forward.
Positives in defeat
This particular talking point may be a regularity for some time, but there were ample positives in yesterday’s defeat.
Amorim is committed to installing his beloved 343 system at the club. He recognises it will take time – similar to his introduction at Casa Pia and Sporting Lisbon – but there is clear evidence of its emergence and benefits.
His side held 71% possession against Forest, completed 601 passes to 242 and offered 17 goal-scoring opportunities against 11.
Although he inevitably suffered defeat, the xG stood 1.60 to 0.83 in his team’s favour, with two big chances created to the visitor’s zero.
Remember, it was a first start for Leny Yoro following rehabilitation. He slotted in alongside De Ligt and Martinez in what many suspect will be the starting trio moving forward.
As I have said multiple times for every other manager, this is a process and will take time. It is reassuring to see a style and identity emerging after a matter of weeks.
The harsh reality for the Glazers and Sir Jim Ratcliffe
Sitting 13th with 19 points, the £66-pound attraction that is Manchester United has achieved its lowest points tally after 15 league games since the 1986-87 season (14).
To clarify, that is by no means a dig at Amorim. Instead, this is the harsh reality of a one-time footballing phenomenon that has become an abject product routinely mishandled by spoon-fed billionaires.
From David Moyes to Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Erik ten Hag and now the Portuguese coach, each tactician has had the displeasure of calling one of them ‘boss’ at some stage.
I am confident that our 39-year-old head coach can achieve great things at the Theatre of Dreams. His pedigree is already evident in such a short time. But he must be supported by this ‘best-in-class’ team in every way possible to rectify this shambolic situation.
How do you feel following a second successive Premier League defeat for United?
Let us know in the comments or across our social channels.
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