Whatever the outcome of this season, games such as this were never really going to decide Nottingham Forest’s fate.
Steve Cooper’s side have taken points off some big teams at the City Ground, of course. But matches against the likes of Manchester United are ones which many fans tend to approach with hope more than expectation - the previous three meetings between the two sides this term also suggested as much.
The problem at the moment is, such is the Reds’ precarious position and such is the absence of wiggle room, they no longer have any free hits. Every result is viewed through the prism of “missed opportunity”.
READ MORE: 'Terrible' Forest sent Man Utd relegation prediction
READ MORE: Forest told points tally needed in ‘very hard’ survival verdict
Forest are still alive in the relegation fight. But are they alive and kicking? They need to offer more than they are doing, that is for sure.
Missing midfield
Pointing to what is or isn’t going on in the centre of the pitch is a familiar refrain of late. It is a problem Cooper hasn’t really been able to solve.
There is absolutely no doubt Ryan Yates is proving to be a huge miss. Even if the Reds were still struggling to settle on the right combination with him available, the tenacity and drive he brings, the bit of bite he adds would give them the edge they have been sorely lacking.
Remo Freuler and Danilo were overrun on Sunday. It was too easy for United to cruise their way up the pitch. The visitors had too much time and space, allowing them to cause too much damage.
With quality players in the opposition side, losing that particular battle was always going to make for a long afternoon for Forest. In hindsight, they could have benefitted from an extra body in there.
New-look defence
The challenges Cooper has had to face while trying to navigate the brutality of the top-flight have been well documented. Picking over them in greater detail is for when this campaign is done.
Prior to the game, Opta pointed out the Reds had used 11 different centre-back partnerships in the league this term. This weekend added another to the list.
Sticking with the system of a three-man defence which had worked well against Aston Villa, Scott McKenna came in for Joe Worrall, who had been suffering with illness overnight. For McKenna, it was his first appearance since being forced off with a hamstring problem in February.
The trio generally worked well. Operating as a wing-back certainly helps Neco Williams. United had 68 percent possession and 22 efforts on goal, though, and that was always likely to tell at some point.
That the opener came from a mix-up between Felipe and Danilo sums up the individual errors which are proving so costly. The second goal killed off the game just when the hosts looked like they might get a foothold.
But for Felipe and Keylor Navas, the final scoreline could have been much worse. Navas showed his class with some superb saves and could do little about the ones which did go in. And Felipe was a one-man roadblock for much of the 90 minutes.
The Brazilian did more than that, too. He took the game by the scruff of the neck and tried to drag his team up field, then smacked the post in frustration when he couldn’t put away a headed chance. He’s at the same time too good to be in a survival scrap but also possesses the kind of characteristics needed in such a scenario.
Firepower needed
Six efforts at goal, none of which were on target. Forest had some promising moments against United, but they didn’t do enough to really hurt their opponents. Navas kept them in with a chance for as long as he could, the crowd did their best to push the hosts on, but David de Gea had a relatively comfortable afternoon.
Taiwo Awoniyi spurned the Reds’ best opportunity just before the break. It was the kind of chance he needed to do better with. Those kinds of openings don’t come around too often, particularly not for Forest at the minute.
“He should hit the target,” Cooper said. “They (United) do, they would have - and that’s why Keylor has played as well as he has.”
Cooper’s side didn’t manage enough of those kinds of moments, though. They never really managed to get Brennan Johnson into the game, while Morgan Gibbs-White is struggling for form at the minute. They are two of the brightest young talents in the Premier League, but were always likely to suffer peaks and troughs. What the Reds need is others to step up when the duo are having off days, but few seem able to fill the void.
Of course the match may well have panned out differently had a penalty been given against Harry Maguire in the 20th minute. Answers on a postcard as to why it wasn’t. Cooper was fuming at the decision, while also - quite rightly - stressing it wasn’t the reason his side lost.
The fight ahead
With other teams having picked up points, the number of potential relegation candidates appears to have narrowed. There is still time for that to change, of course, but Crystal Palace, Wolverhampton Wanderers and probably Bournemouth look to have done enough to pull clear.
Forest’s sole objective is to finish above three other teams. It doesn’t matter how they get there.
Survival is still possible, they are still capable of achieving it. Only goal difference has them in the bottom three at present. But with every game that passes without an upturn in fortunes, the size of the task only increases. Not least because it looks increasingly likely that Forest will somehow need to overturn their wretched away form to keep them in with a chance.
Playing with greater conviction is needed, but Cooper insists his squad’s belief hasn’t been affected by their winless streak or the position they are in. He will need to ensure that remains the case as the players prepare for a trip to Anfield, to take on a Liverpool side against whom they delivered one of the moments of the season so far with a memorable win in October. That game was something of a turning point on the back of a poor run. How the Reds could do with a repeat on Saturday.
Will Forest stay up? Have your say in the comments below
READ NEXT
