Nottingham Forest’s winless run extended to 10 games as they were toppled 2-0 by Manchester United at the City Ground.
A frantic start saw chances at both ends of the pitch. Felipe made a big block to deny Jadon Sancho with less than a minute gone, while Taiwo Awoniyi had an effort thwarted at the other end soon after.
It was end-to-end action. Keylor Navas made a crucial save to keep out Bruno Fernandes in the 18th minute, but Forest were unable to take advantage of it remaining 0-0.
READ MORE: How the action unfolded at the City Ground
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They thought they should have had a penalty midway through the half when Harry Maguire appeared to handle, but nothing was given. Scott McKenna then hit the post and Danilo had an effort deflected wide.
With no breakthrough, the hosts then paid the price. Navas palmed away an initial shot from Anthony Martial after a mix-up, but Antony was on hand to fire in the rebound.
Awoniyi had a great chance to equalise just before half-time, following a Morgan Gibbs-White break, but couldn’t find the target. And another handball appeal, this time against Diogo Dalot was waved away after the restart.
Navas made a couple of important saves to keep his team in with a chance, but Dalot killed the game off just when the hosts were starting to get a foothold. Here’s how Reds reporter Sarah Clapson rated the Forest players at the City Ground.
Keylor Navas: Kept the hosts in with a chance of getting something from the game for as long as he could, making some superb saves. Scoreline would have been worse but for his performance. Rating: 8/10
Neco Williams: Tried to get the crowd going with a promising run which almost forced an own goal in the second half, when Forest were having a good spell. Needed more of that. Rating: 6.5/10
Felipe: Outstanding. Again. Took the game by the scruff of the neck and showed no shortage of passion and spirit. If only he’d scored with a decent chance when it was still 1-0. Rating: 8/10
Moussa Niakhate: Caused problems with a long throw early on. Generally did well, but United applied plenty of pressure, and that was always likely to tell at some point. Rating: 6/10
Scott McKenna: Good to see the defender back after a long spell out of action. Took a little while to settle in, but hit the post with an effort in the first half. Rating: 6/10
Renan Lodi: Having the left-back available again is a boost, even if he could do little to affect this one. Might have done better for the opener. Rating: 6/10
Remo Freuler: Midfield was overrun for much of the first hour, with United able to play their way through too easily at times. Had his work cut out trying to stop them. Rating: 5.5/10
Danilo: Some nice touches and promising link-up play with Gibbs-White. Same as Freuler, though, midfield struggled to get a handle on the game - particularly in the first half. Rating: 6/10
Morgan Gibbs-White: Some bright moments but not enough to really cause the visitors problems. Forest really need to find a way of getting him back to his best - and quickly. Rating: 5.5/10
Brennan Johnson: Didn’t see enough of the ball to really have an impact on the game. At least was able to carry on after an early scare when he went down - was a real worry to see him receiving treatment. Rating: 6/10
Taiwo Awoniyi: Would have backed him to score that gilt-edged chance before the break. Opportunities like that don’t come around too often against teams like United. Rating: 6/10
Subs
Sam Surridge (for Awoniyi, 64mins): Looked lively and forced an early foul. Crowd liked seeing him being given a chance, at least. Rating: 6/10
Orel Mangala (for Freuler, 64mins): Tried to get stuck in quickly, with Forest having a decent spell at the time. Rating: 6/10
Emmanuel Dennis (for McKenna, 81mins): Didn’t have long enough to make an impact, with the game already over by then. Rating: 6/10
Jesse Lingard (for Gibbs-White, 88mins): Barely enough time to touch the ball against his old club. Rating: 6/10
Subs not used: Hennessey, Worrall, Shelvey, Toffolo, Ayew.
How would you rate the Forest players? Have your say in the comments below
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