Nottingham Forest coach Nuno Espirito Santo hailed his side's improvement from set-pieces as a key factor in their first win over Manchester United at Old Trafford in 30 years.
Defender Nikola Milenkovic scored from a corner kick after just 90 seconds as Forest won 3-2 and handed United coach and Espirito Santo compatriot Ruben Amorim a second defeat.
Morgan Gibbs-White and Chris Wood also scored, with the latter etching his name into the history books to become Forest's all-time top goalscorer in the Premier League.
Hoglund had leveled for United on the quarter-hour mark after Milinkovic's opener, and Bruno Fernandes – who was partly at fault for Gibbs-White's goal almost immediately after the restart – pulled one back for the hosts.
Nikola Milinkovic scores his first goal with Nottingham Forest! ⚽⚡ pic.twitter.com/Ni1AMQBydE
– Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 7, 2024
But Forest held on for a famous victory, much to the delight of their manager.
“(We showed) teamwork, belief, desire to improve and belief that we can compete against any team,” Espirito Santo told Sky Sports.
“The start of the match is very important. The way we start is a huge detail and changes everything.
“We know United are a great team and they were going to fight back. In the first half we weren't completely organised. The start of the second half was huge.
“So it means a lot. The path we are trying to take together makes sense as long as everyone believes in it. Even if you come from the bench, you can play your part.”
On the importance of set-piece situations, the Forest coach added: “We always try to be consistent in our set-piece situations. This is something we have improved. Thank God it came right because we spend a lot of time on the training pitch trying to repeat.
“The only thing I think we should have done better is counter-attacking. We didn't achieve much.
“But the team unity was good.”
Birthday gift for our registry @Premier League scorer. 🎁 pic.twitter.com/YjaLTPGOzk
– Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) December 7, 2024
Gibbs-White also praised striker Wood, admitting he enjoys playing with the 33-year-old.
“I love working with Woody (Wood). He’s a great striker to work with,” Gibbs-White said.
“I know exactly where he's going to be, what he's going to do. He's always clearing defenders, coming in front. I picked him well, but to be fair to him, he's done all the work.”
“I love playing with him at the moment.”
