Nottingham Forest 2-2 Manchester United: Spoils shared by evenly matched sides
Manchester United will kick themselves for a dismal start to the second half that saw Nottingham Forest score twice in two minutes and completely turn the game on its head.
From then on, Forest looked comfortable until a late wonder-goal from Amad Diallo restored parity, and Sean Dyche himself will be disappointed his side could not hold on for the last 10 minutes to get a much needed first league win since opening day.
In the end, a draw was perhaps a fair result for both teams in a dramatic encounter at the City Ground. However, quite typically, the set-piece goals, the wonder volleys, the flying start to the second half that saw Forest grab the game by the scruff of the neck, all will be brushed aside to focus on the officiating.
Forest will point to the ball that seemed to have not completely gone over the line but was pulled back for a corner. From the resulting corner, Casemiro rose to head in United’s opener, with Forest failing to switch on.
Replays showed the ball had remained on the line by the tiniest of fractions, but football fans would do well to realise that referees are human and would never be able to get every call correctly down to the finest margins.
Defenders can defend a corner whether it should have been given or not, and perhaps the blame should go to the overemphasis on refereeing for keeping Forest players preoccupied when they should have been defending.
Before and after the goal both sides seemed marginally equal, United somewhat more confident with a run of three wins behind them, but not quite looking like they cared enough about having a fourth. Forest looked like they wanted it more.
Dan Ndoye tested Senne Lammens from distance. Callum Hudson-Odoi Forest dragged a shot narrowly wide. Nikola Milenkovic headed over.
United had their moments. Amad tried a curling shot from outside the area twice, the first parried dramatically by Matz Sels, the other sailing disappointingly wide in a much better position.
Casemiro’s header put Ruben Amorim’s side in front heading into the break but unfortunately all it did was induce lethargy. Flying out for the second period, Forest quickly turned the tides through Morgan Gibbs-White and Nicolo Savona.
United allowed Forest’s Ryan Yates time and space to put in a cross from the right, and Gibbs-White headed to the far corner as Lammens clawed at the air in vain. Just moments later, the away side gave away acres of space on their left again, and this time Igor Jesus’s header dropped in the six-yard box, with Savona free enough to take a touch before putting his side ahead.
Bruno Fernandes struck the post and Casemiro hit the side netting, before Amad pulled United level. Players on both sides played ping-pong with headers after Bryan Mbeumo’s corner, before Amad pounced on the loose ball outside the area and volleyed in the equaliser.
Casemiro almost got a winner when his deflected strike went over the bar, and Amad attempted another outrageous volley but Murillo interposed his back to miraculously clear it off the line.
