Four takeaways from Man Utd’s humbling loss at Nottingham Forest
For the 14th time already this season, Manchester United have lost a game of football.
14 defeats. Fourteen. We’re technically not even out of the calendar year yet.
The Red Devils were beaten 2-1 by Nottingham Forest on Saturday evening just days after prevailing 3-2 at home to Aston Villa following a stirring comeback.
Club captain Bruno Fernandes warned pre-match at the City Ground that United should not think they had turned a corner for good though. Boy, did his comments feel more wise come full-time.
„I don’t want to talk about turning points because at the end of that game, we had too many moments where we thought it was going to be the turning point and it never really was,“ Fernandes said. „So it’s about focusing on this game and not thinking if we win today it’s going to change anything. For us at the moment, we have to go step-by-step, game-by-game, winning every game we have.“
So what went wrong this time for United? Where do they go from here? Here are 90min’s key takeaways from this latest loss.
It is indefensible to keep playing Antony on the wing. He is not a competent attacker at this level. It might be worth giving him a go at left-back if Erik ten Hag is so inclined to get him on the pitch someway somehow.
One goal in 33 Premier League appearances in 2023. Zero goals or assists in 21 Premier League games this season. A £25m-rated player signed for £85m. And believe me, this is us being kind to him.
United would be better off giving his minutes to Amad Diallo, or Facundo Pellistri, or an out-of-shape and out-of-order Jadon Sancho, or a youth team player who might play with as much desire but inexplicably more quality.
Ten Hag’s decision to withdraw Kobbie Mainoo at half-time was perplexing, but he explained post-match he was protecting the teenager after playing three games in a week. That’s fair enough. Bringing on the box-crashing Scott McTominay to partner Christian Eriksen was not.
Just…just look at the space Nicolas Dominguez and Morgan Gibbs-White were afforded for their goals.
Casemiro solved a lot of long-standing midfield issues upon arrival at Old Trafford last season, but he’s spent much of this term either injured or putting in poor displays. Once again, United should be in the market for another defensive midfielder.
Let’s stick with Eriksen. Alright, it’s not his fault Ten Hag keeps selecting him as the deepest midfielder. It’s not his fault he’s not as fit as he once was. But he can’t handle the intensity of the Premier League anymore.
Ten Hag cited McTominay’s introduction as one full of energy, which is needed to partner the veteran legs of Eriksen, but the Scot was going in the wrong direction. Eriksen is now at a stage where he has to play as an old-fashioned number ten or not at all, and he’s not displacing Fernandes.
There is a bit of sympathy and empathy for Ten Hag because he’s right to an extent – United’s season has been hit hard by injuries.
That would explain the defensive lapses, but not the attacking woes. Fernandes and Marcus Rashford have been fit for 90% of the season. Their drop-offs cannot be explained, especially when playing with an actual number nine like Rasmus Hojlund.
If you were being hyper-critical of Ten Hag’s first campaign, the main difference this season is only that Rashford isn’t bailing them out every week.
But when so many players underperform, that’s a managerial issue. Ten Hag might not be the coach to solve it.