Seconds after Morgan Gibbs-White curled in Nottingham Forest’s fantastic winning goal with 82 minutes gone, he celebrated by soaking up the adulation from the Trent End and putting his index fingers to his ears. It is a tactic Erik ten Hag may need to employ to shutout the never-ending noise surrounding his position and this flaky and unpredictable Manchester United side. The volume will only increase after this, a damning 14th defeat of the season in all competitions. The last time they lost as many games before the turn of the year? That was 1930-31, when they were relegated to the Second Division.
Marcus Rashford cancelled out Nicolás Domínguez’s second-half strike, giving United hope of staging another late comeback, but Gibbs-White wrapped his right foot around the ball from the edge of the box, in effect throwing another log on United’s fire. In 10 days Nuno Espírito Santo, who replaced Steve Cooper with Forest lurking above the relegation zone, seems to have built a more fluent and spirited operation than Ten Hag has mustered in 20 months. Nothing embodied Forest’s togetherness more than Ryan Yates, the Forest captain, and the substitute Neco Williams teaming up to win the ball from Alejandro Garnacho close to the corner flag nearest the away end with a couple of minutes left.
United have lost nine of their 20 league matches this season – as many as they did across the entire last term – and are lagging nine points off the top four, having played a game more than most of their rivals. Even 10 minutes of second-half stoppage time could not paper over the cracks. When Matt Turner, the Forest goalkeeper, claimed a cross in driving rain in the 101st minute, Garnacho was among those in United colours to sink to the turf. The final whistle soon confirmed their pain.
United ultimately avoided punishment for their slow start against Aston Villa on Boxing Day and it would have been cruel on Forest if United registered another late comeback victory here.
United were woeful in the first half. It spoke volumes that it was down to a 35-year-old jobbing defender in Jonny Evans to provide at least a whiff of vigour, his cartoonish energy extinguishing danger in one breath and plunging United into trouble in another. Aaron Wan-Bissaka had United’s sole first-half shot on 33 minutes, his effort deflecting harmlessly into Turner’s grasp. Ten Hag sought change and introduced Scott McTominay in place of Kobbie Mainoo at half-time.
So forgettable was the fare, the away supporters could be forgiven for training their eyes on the directors’ box as opposed to the pitch. It was there where the Ineos director of sport, Sir Dave Brailsford, primed to take a prominent role on United’s football board after Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s purchase of a minority stake in the club last weekend, took in the game. Brailsford, who also attended their comeback win against Villa, sat alongside Sir Alex Ferguson – a penny for his thoughts – and in front of John Murtough, the football director.
United’s performance was listless and on 63 minutes they got what they deserved as Forest seized the lead. The former United youngster Anthony Elanga, who was busy throughout, fed Gonzalo Montiel, one of those given a new lease of life by Nuno, and he located an unmarked Domínguez, who stroked the ball into the bottom corner. By then United had at least had another go at goal, Diogo Dalot cracking a shot against a post, but everything seemed off the cuff.
An almost punch-drunk Turner staggered back into his own net after tipping over a vicious Bruno Fernandes volley, which deflected off Murillo, but United struggled to work the Forest defence. United only found a route back into the game owing to an error by Turner. The Forest goalkeeper sought to punch a pass into Danilo but Garnacho nipped in to intercept and then squared the ball for Rashford, who sidefooted an unerring first-time effort low into the bottom corner.
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No wonder, then, that Turner roared with relief when Gibbs-White struck, his winner coming at the end of a counterattack that began with the Forest goalkeeper repelling a Christian Eriksen strike. Yates drove forward, fuelled by the locals, eating up ground with United’s midfield conspicuous by its absence and then spread the ball wide to Elanga. Gibbs-White did the rest.
