Another setback for Manchester United. The Red Devils conceded their fifth away defeat of the season in a 2-1 defeat at Nottingham
“I’m sure he’ll score more goals from now on,” Erik ten Hag had said about Rasmus Höjlund at the press conference before the visit to Nottingham after his opening goal in the 3-2 Premier League win over Aston Villa.
However, the Dane was unable to confirm this statement for the time being: The 20-year-old was unavailable due to illness. Instead, Antony started on the right, Garnacho switched to the left and Rashford took over Höjlund’s role up front
Wan-Bissaka’s shot as a symbol of harmlessness
The fact that the Red Devils had ended their negative streak (four games without a win in all competitions) on Boxing Day was hardly noticeable on the pitch. They were unable to find any solutions at all against the gallant hosts’ midfield pressing and therefore only shot on goal once in the first 45 minutes – the finish was emblematic of their attacking efforts: Wan-Bissaka’s deflected long-range shot rolled into Turner’s hands (33′).
Although the Tricky Trees fired six shots, they were just as harmless: Onana did not have to intervene seriously. For this reason, the teams went into the dressing room goalless after a very tough first half.
Dominguez takes the lead
At first, nothing changed after the restart until the post suddenly wobbled: Dalot hammered the ball against the right-hand post from distance (55′) – a wake-up call for Man United? Not at all!
After a brief emotional phase (three yellow cards in three minutes), the ball ended up in their own net. At the end of a neatly executed move, Dominguez scored into the left corner (64′). Manchester tried to respond, but remained largely harmless with the exception of Garnacho’s unsuccessful volley (67′)
Turner prevents a late equalizer
It was therefore not surprising that the equalizer was the result of a mistake by Turner: The goalkeeper, who had already shown problems with the ball throughout the match, played the ball into Garnacho’s feet. The latter kept an overview for goalscorer Rashford (78′) – it was the first away goal since the end of November (3:0 at Everton FC).
However, the joy of the goal did not last long. After Turner had saved a long-range shot from Eriksen, Gibbs-White successfully finished off the direct counter-attack from the edge of the penalty area (82′) – 2:1. This was also to be the final score, as Turner was able to deflect a deflected volley from Bruno Fernandes over the crossbar in eleven minutes of stoppage time (90.+5).
Nottingham celebrate first win against Man United since 1994
ManUnited, who remain stagnant in seventh place, lost a competitive game against the Tricky Trees for the first time since 1994 and remained winless away from home for the fourth time in a row. Nottingham, on the other hand, gained some breathing space in the relegation battle with their second win in a row.
The Tricky Trees face Blackpool in the FA Cup on Sunday (3pm). Manchester United host Wigan on Monday (9.15pm).
