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Diallo earns point for Man Utd in thriller against Nottingham Forest

Amad Diallo of Manchester United scores his team's second goal
Amad Diallo of Manchester United scores his team's second goalMICHAEL REGAN / GETTY IMAGES EUROPE / Getty Images via AFP

Nottingham Forest’s winless run in the Premier League (PL) stretched to nine matches since the opening weekend after they were held to a 2-2 draw by Manchester United.

Key stats

- Manchester United attempted 514 passes in this game, their highest total in a single match in the Premier League this season.

- Nottingham Forest have conceded eight goals in the last 15 minutes of the second half, more than any other team in the Premier League this season.

- Nottingham Forest ended a run of 536 minutes without a goal in the Premier League, their longest since going 506 minutes without scoring from October 22nd 1994, to December 3rd, 1994.

Highlights

Analysis

Anderson heat map
Anderson heat mapDarren Staples / AFP / Opta by Stats Perform

Elliot Anderson put in another highly effective display in midfield for Nottingham Forest.

Momentum
MomentumOpta by Stats Perform

Both sides had chances to earn the victory in what was a topsy-turvy affair.

Match report

One of three sides to win all of their PL games in October, United started well and Benjamin Šeško perhaps ought to have done better with two presentable chances at the City Ground in the opening quarter-hour, firing wide of the target on both occasions.

The Tricky Trees, who rarely troubled Senne Lammens in the visitors’ goal, also saw Douglas Luiz depart early with a muscular problem.

Elliot Anderson’s influence on proceedings as the half wore on was noticeable, though it was Šeško again who had the best chances to open the scoring, yet he failed to control through balls from Bryan Mbeumo and Luke Shaw.

A flying save by Matz Sels denied Amad Diallo after a well-worked United move, and a contentiously awarded corner not long afterwards saw Casemiro rise highest to power home a deserved opener - the Brazilian’s fifth goal involvement in eight appearances against Forest.

Casemiro goal
Casemiro goalDarren Staples / AFP / Opta by Stats Perform

Callum Hudson-Odoi’s speculative long-range daisy cutter as HT approached summed up Forest’s first half, with Shaw and Matthijs de Ligt in particular enjoying a busy but excellent first half in the United defence. 

A period of sustained Forest pressure at the start of the second half paid handsome rewards, as they netted twice in the space of 92 seconds to completely turn the game on its head.

First, Morgan Gibbs-White met Ryan Yates’ cross and looped a header past Lammens, before more poor marking in the box from a cross allowed Nicolò Savona to nip in and bury a second to send the home support delirious.

Gibbs-White goal
Gibbs-White goalShaun Botterill / GETTY IMAGES EUROPE / Getty Images via AFP / Opta by Stats Perform

Ruben Amorim’s men set about a recovery, with captain Bruno Fernandes seeing his effort bounce back off the foot of the post. 

It was Forest in the ascendancy as the game reached the latter stages, and Hudson-Odoi was a whisker away from their third after a driving run and shot.

The hosts sat back on their lead, but that proved to be their undoing as they failed to clear a corner and Amad smashed home a left-footed volley to draw United level.

Both sides had chances to win the game late on, with the visitors coming the closest when Murillo blocked Amad’s effort on the line.

Match stats
Match statsOpta by Stats Perform

The result meant that United weren’t able to win back-to-back away games for the first time this season, with the Red Devils winning just one of their last 10 PL games away from Old Trafford.

Flashscore Man of the Match: Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest)

Post-match comments

Amad Diallo to Sky Sports:

"It's always difficult to play Nottingham Forest. We wanted to win this game coming from three in a row. 

"We are a bit disappointed because we go home with one point. But we will learn from this. 

"I think we have confidence now. We believe in the manager and we believe in the system. Everyone is now focused. We are training to do our best. We have three wins in a row, and we wanted to make it four. We were unlucky."

Nottingham Forest captain Morgan Gibbs-White to Sky Sports:

"To get a point is good, but the dressing room is frustrated not to get all three.

"We conceded two silly corners (from which they scored), I don't think the first one was even a corner. From where I was standing, I was pretty far away, and all the boys were saying at half-time that the ball hadn't gone out.

"It's something that needs looking at because it has cost us two extra points today."

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