Man Utd lost to the team in 16th place.

Manchester United suffered their ninth Premier League defeat of the season, losing 1-2 to hosts Nottingham Forest in matchday 20.

Both of Man Utd's conceded goals followed a similar pattern: no player was quick enough to close down the opposition, allowing them to shoot from plenty of space in the midfield. Midfielder Scott McTominay made mistakes in both situations, extending the Red Devils' winless away run to five matches.

Midfielder Nicolas Dominguez (number 16) opened the scoring for Nottingham against Man Utd at City Ground, West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, in the 20th round of the Premier League on the evening of December 30, 2023. Photo: Reuters

Nottingham were 16th in the Premier League before this match, but they showed positive signs under new manager Nuno Espirito Santo. He is known for his tight style of play, resulting in a first half without any significant incidents. But the second half was more exciting, starting with Diogo Dalot's shot from outside the penalty area hitting the post and bouncing out.

Despite the heavy rain, the match heated up with a controversial foul by striker Morgan Gibbs-White. He slid repeatedly into the legs of two Manchester United players, but the referee only issued a yellow card to the Nottingham player, then another to Diogo Dalot for his reaction.

Despite not having a man advantage, Man Utd conceded the first goal in the 64th minute, when Marcus Rashford was marked off the pitch, leaving them playing with only 10 men. Taking advantage of this, home defender Gonzalo Montiel broke down the right flank and passed the ball across to midfielder Nicolas Dominguez, who easily curled a shot into the far corner while goalkeeper Andre Onana stood rooted to the spot watching the ball fly into the net. McTominay was also distracted, failing to run back and stop Dominguez's shot.

After conceding a goal, Man Utd increased the tempo of their attack, and Alejandro Garnacho's effort helped the visitors score. The 19-year-old midfielder slid in to intercept a slightly weak pass from goalkeeper Matt Turner, dribbled into the penalty area, and then delivered a perfect cross for Rashford to curl a low shot into the far corner, equalizing the score at 1-1.

Turner hit himself on the head for this mistake, but just four minutes later he redeemed himself. From Christian Eriksen's long-range shot, the American goalkeeper dived to push the ball away, allowing Nottingham to counter-attack. Former Man Utd player Anthony Elanga received the ball on the right, passed it across to Gibbs-White, who had a wide-angle shot from about 17 meters and was unmarked. The controversial player curled the ball into the near corner, leaving Onana with no chance to save it.

Manager Erik ten Hag looked helpless as Manchester United suffered their ninth consecutive Premier League defeat. Photo: Reuters

In both goals conceded, manager Erik ten Hag shook his head in dismay, frustrated by the opponents' easy finishing. In the stands, former manager Alex Ferguson and INEOS sporting director Dave Brailsford looked dejected. Clearly, Brailsford has a lot of work to do to help billionaire Jim Ratcliffe transform Man Utd. Therefore, with the recent poor results, the Dutch manager could lose his job at any moment.

Xuan Binh

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