Manchester United continue to lurch and flail through this early phase of the season. To scrap to a victory from 2-0 down may appear admirable but, in essence, Erik ten Hag’s men should never have allowed this deficit only four minutes in.
It points to a fragility that will concern the manager and which is a puzzle as Ten Hag had all of last season to ensure his side do not resemble a bunch of strangers who may find the right wavelength to prosper or may not.
On this occasion they did – just about. The winner came from the one player Ten Hag can rely on – Bruno Fernandes, whose 76th-minute penalty beat Matt Turner to the goalkeeper’s right and came after Marcus Rashford claimed the kick by drawing Danilo into a clumsy foul on the right of his area.
Fernandes was effervescent throughout. An earlier run on to Casemiro’s raking pass caused Joe Worrall to yank United’s captain down and Nottingham Forest’s leader was sent off, the score at this juncture 2-2.
A defeat or a draw and United could have been written up as entering their latest crisis, with one win from three, a slew of injuries including the £72m new striker who is yet to feature (Rasmus Højlund) and the prevailing sense that another season may prove long and arduous. Throw in the latest anti-Glazers protest, a sit-in against the American owners planned for after the final whistle, and this would have been one of those dark days that have become synonymous with the decade since Sir Alex Ferguson retired.
Yet while this did not happen – André Onana beat out a late Willy Boly shot to ensure the win – United’s start was a disaster and a face.
Both goals came from dead balls and should have been avoided. Forest’s first derived from a home corner. Fernandes swung this in from the left, Brennan Johnson cleared, Aaron Wan-Bissaka was soporific in challenging Morgan Gibbs-White, and Taiwo Awoniyi took over. The No 9 was deep in his own half but, barging aside a slumbering Rashford, Awoniyi raced upfield, Onana retreated when he might have advanced, and the Nigerian ran all the way into United’s area to score in a seventh success league appearance.
Cut to Casemiro imploring his teammates before the restart to retain their cool. Then cut to Casemiro ball-watching when Gibbs-White fired in a free-kick – needlessly conceded by Diogo Dalot – from the right, the Brazilian’s ponderousness allowing his jumper, Boly, to head in.
United had to rally and did. High-tempo possession followed before Christian Eriksen’s first goal of the season, which came after Turner failed to steer Fernandes’s long-range effort to safety. Anthony Martial, restored as United’s centre-forward, tapped the ball to Rashford and after he beat Scott McKenna down the left he pinged it over for Eriksen’s poacher’s finish.
The home congregation upped the volume and the chants of “You’re getting sacked in the morning” (aimed at Ten Hag) from the guest support were quelled.
As rain poured down Ten Hag reached for the cagoule and saw Casemiro commit another mistake: a Fernandes corner bounced to the midfielder who somehow headed wide.
Casemiro was again in the dock for jogging back as Gibbs-White was put in behind. An instant ball would have offered a tap-in but he dawdled and United escaped.
United’s response was spirited due to Fernandes, who was in dynamo mode, probing along the flanks, chasing back and flicking crossfield passes to Dalot, who was in the XI due to the Luke Shaw’s long-term injury.
The Portuguese was let down by colleagues who failed to pick up runners and, on the stroke of half-time, the unattended Gibbs-White should have smashed in a third Forest goal.
Casemiro redeemed himself with the equaliser. Fernandes pulled a free-kick back to Rashford on the left near Forest’s D. The ball was returned to the captain, whose header across was cushioned on the Brazilian’s leg then punched in.
After Fernandes put United ahead, Anthony Elanga sprinted down the left and teed up Chris Wood, but somehow the striker missed and somehow United clung on through the 14 minutes of added time.
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August 26, 2023 at 11:16PM
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Manchester United storm back to beat 10-man Forest with Fernandes spot-on - The Guardian
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