Man Utd ended 2023 with a 1-2 defeat at Nottingham Forest in round 20 of the Premier League. This was their 21st defeat this year. In Man Utd's history, there have only been 3 times they have lost more games in a calendar year - 1930 (28 games), 1972 (25 games) and 1921 (24 games).
In the Premier League alone, coach Erik ten Hag's team lost 9 of their first 20 games. In the period from the 1989/90 season until the match against Nottingham Forest, Man Utd had never had such a high failure rate.
Man Utd continue to set sad milestones. (Photo: Getty Images)
Man Utd are one of the worst attacking teams in the Premier League. In the first 20 rounds, they scored 22 goals. Only 2 teams have scored worse: Burnley (20 goals) and Sheffield United (15 goals). These are also the 2 teams at the bottom of the rankings.
In the first half of the match against Nottingham Forest, Man Utd only had one shot. In terms of the game, coach Erik ten Hag's players could not overwhelm the home team, and even let the opponent pressure them in many stages of the match.
By the 82nd minute - when they conceded the second goal - Man Utd had only 3 shots on target. Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest had 2 shots on target and scored 2 goals.
Interestingly, the person who assisted Morgan Gibbs-White to make it 2-1 for Nottingham Forest was Anthony Elanga - a former Man Utd player. This midfielder has a total of 6 passes for teammates to score this season, twice as many as the current "Red Devils" best assister.
In the history of the Premier League, Man Utd have only lost to Nottingham Forest twice, the most recent being in round 20 of this season. The Red Devils' only defeat to this opponent in the Premier League was in 1994. At that time, Alf-Inge Haaland was still in the Nottingham Forest squad and his son - Erling Haaland - was not yet born.
Han Phong
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