Manchester United traveled to the East Midlands of England earlier today for a Premier League match against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground. United were looking to continue their winning momentum having beaten Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Boxing Day, while Forest were also looking to continue their winning form under new manager Nuno Espirito Santo. For a team like Forest in a relegation battle, every point they can scrape matters. The points mattered for United and manager Erik ten Hag as well, but for the visitors it was more about putting in a competent performance and playing with the consistency that has eluded them this season.
The atmosphere inside the City Ground was electric and high energy from the start, although the play on the pitch in the first half from both sides was decidedly dull. Forest were probably slightly better on the balance of things, mainly because United were absolutely anemic in attack. They put together some decent moves towards the end of the half, but the shots on goal were few and far between. Forest failed to score as well, but they looked much more cohesive when in possession. For the umpteenth time this season, United looked clueless in attack. A key substitution was made at halftime by ETH, with defensive midfielder Kobbie Mainoo being replaced by fellow midfielder Scott McTominay. More on this substitution below.
The second half was much more high-energy and uptempo from both sides. Forest grew into the game considerably well, likely buoyed by their home support. The opening goal came from midfielder Nicolas Dominguez, who slotted home past United keeper Andre Onana on the hour mark. Hard to say Forest didn’t deserve it, but the defending from United was very poor. As a defensive midfielder, McTominay was responsible for defending the edge of the box. For whatever reason though, he wasn’t there and Dominguez was given an opening from which to shoot. Onana maybe could have done better with his positioning, but McTominay has to be in position to make a clearance in situations like this one.
I was resigned to another away defeat for United given their lack of urgency going forward, but the Red Devils responded a bit (finally) after going down 1-0. Left back Diogo Dalot struck the post after a good move, and United got an equalizer on 78 minutes thanks to some good pressing from winger Alejandro Garnacho and a bad mistake by Forest keeper Matt Turner. Turner had been having issues playing the ball out from the back for most of the half, and Garnacho jumped on one of his many unconvincing passes. He won the ball about 20 yards out from goal, after which he found winger/forward Marcus Rashford to his left. The Forest defense was scrambling to get back, and Rashford was able to curve a shot along the ground past Turner for 1-1. The goal came about more because of the mistake from Turner than anything else, but of course it counted all the same. I would have been more than pleased with a 1-1 given how the match had gone, as well. Well done to Rashford for finishing clinically despite not being in good scoring form this season.
Unfortunately, United’s defense was undone again just four minutes later by attacking midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White. United were pushing for a winner, but were caught out on a swift counter-attack organized by winger (and former United player) Anthony Elanga. Elanga brought the ball forward before centering it along the ground for Gibbs-White, who curled a spectacular shot around center-back Jonny Evans that crept inside Onana’s left-hand post. Again, a fine move and finish from Forest, but where was the marking from United? Evans and fellow center back Raphael Varane weren’t communicating properly, and McTominay was again nowhere to be found when he was supposed to be covering the edge of the box. Gibbs-White is a talented player, and he was given far too much room to shoot. 2-1 to Forest.
United pushed again for another equalizer and were aided by a staggering 10 minutes of stoppage time, but the best they could muster was a deflected effort from midfielder Bruno Fernandes that was saved by Turner. A few more routine saves from the American keeper helped Forest out the rest of the match, and the Garibaldi Reds 2-1 winners on the day. It was their first ever victory over United at the City Ground, and it was a crucial three points towards their survival at the end of the season. All credit to Forest and Nuno, but United were bad yet again.
Frustratingly, there was again a lack of urgency and desire from the players until they were already down 1-0. I don’t know why they don’t start trying until they’re already losing. Another big factor was ETH’s initial tactics and substitutions. He insists on playing Garnacho on the left wing, with opposite winger Antony dos Santos occupying the right wing. This is a good idea if both are encouraged to cut inside and get shots away from distance, but teams have figured out that tactic and they know how to prevent it. Antony in particular was poor today. It’s not a coincidence that United improved when he was taken off and replaced by fellow winger Amad Diallo. Antony has scored just one goal in 33 matches in 2023, and he has not justified his £85 million price tag. I don’t know why ETH simply doesn’t swap Garnacho and Antony so they can ping crosses in with their preferred foot. The “cutting inside to shoot” tactic isn’t working and hasn’t worked, so why not try something different?
Further, taking off Mainoo for McTominay was utterly baffling from ETH. Mainoo has been one of our better midfielders since breaking into the first team earlier this season, and he was doing fairly well at helping to control the midfield. So why was he taken off? There was no injury or yellow card situation for him, but ETH still elected to take him off at halftime anyway. As has been discussed before on this blog, McTominay is not a defensive midfielder. He is simply not good at it and is much more suited to attacking than the defending. It could be argued that McTominay was at fault for both Forest goals due to being out of position both times. United may still have lost anyway, but I think Mainoo would have done much better at helping the defense than McTominay did.
This is the first match where I’ve really questioned what ETH is trying to do. He needs to stop trying to make the inverted winger tactic work, and he really needs to ensure that McTominay is not playing as a defensive midfielder. Is it stubbornness from the Dutchman? Lack of options? I know the injuries have been bad this season, but I think United could have nicked a draw today had Mainoo been on the pitch longer. ETH really needs to re-evaluate his tactics, and the team selection needs further scrutiny as well. Put Antony on the left, Garnacho on the right, and stick a center forward between the two of them with Bruno in behind. Let’s get a lot more players into the box and have the wingers play crosses in to them. And at the risk of sounding like a broken record, there needs to be a lot more desire and drive from a good portion of this United team.
United remain 7th in the Premier League table, but could fall as far as 9th once Brighton and Newcastle play their games in hand tomorrow. Next up, it’s a short trip to Wigan, England for a match in the FA Cup with Wigan Athletic. The FA Cup is our last chance at a trophy this season, and ETH really needs a victory there to restore some of the supporters’ faith in him. If they lose to a lower league side in the 3rd round of the FA Cup, the seat underneath ETH will become very hot indeed.
Glazers Out!
4-4-2 