Ruben Amorim suffered his second successive defeat as Manchester United manager, and his first at Old Trafford, as Nottingham Forest won 3-2 in a thrilling match at Old Trafford.
The Amorim side conceded early in both halves to double their midweek defeat to Arsenal, with Nikola Milenkovic, Morgan Gibbs-White and Chris Wood scoring for the visitors to secure their first win at United's stadium in three decades.
Rasmus Hoglund and Bruno Fernandes found the back of the net for the hosts on the day the Red Devils paid tribute to their beloved long-time receptionist, Kath Phipps, who died this week aged 85.
For Forest, this was their second trip to Manchester in four days after their 3-0 loss to Manchester City on Wednesday. But this time, the visitor's trip to the city was much happier.
Victory at Old Trafford. 😍 pic.twitter.com/VjPy0NPIRC
– Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) December 7, 2024
United were fouled twice from corner kicks against Arsenal, then were punished again from a set-piece when the towering Milinkovic rose high to head home from a corner within 90 seconds.
It was Forest's first Serbian international goal and the worst possible start for the Amorim side.
The visitors have shown on several occasions this season that they are capable of maintaining their lead, so, moments later, it was no surprise to see a wall of light blue shirts rushing in to block Amad Diallo's low shot from a set-piece.
But Forest did not lead for long when, in the 18th minute, Alejandro Garnacho fired the ball into Hoylund's path by goalkeeper Matz Sels.
The Danish striker hit the ball into the net to equalize.
From there, it was like a tug of war between the two teams.
Jota Silva, nicknamed “Portuguese Jack Grealish” due to his physical resemblance to the Manchester City player, hit the crossbar with a header shortly before the half-hour mark.
United then returned the favor when Fernandes' free-kick was deflected off the woodwork by Sales five minutes before half-time.
“He totally did Andre Onana wrong” 😬
Morgan Gibbs-White brings Nottingham Forest back to the top 🌳 pic.twitter.com/BNt6RtetxC
– Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 7, 2024
But just after the break, Forest repeated their first-half antics when Gibbs-White fired past Andre Onana after Fernandes had passed the ball cheaply to Callum Hudson-Odoi.
The winger passed the ball to Forest's No.10 who unleashed a powerful shot that the United goalkeeper failed to stop.
The in-form Wood, celebrating his 33rd birthday, quickly increased Forest's advantage when he headed Gibbs-White's deep cross across goal.
The ball dribbled past everyone before falling into the far side of the net to give Wood his 10th league goal of the season and see him become Forest's top scorer in the Premier League era.
Running from Imad Diallo ⚡
The end from Bruno Fernandes 🎯 pic.twitter.com/LLevm7e2VG– Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 7, 2024
Then Fernandez made up for his previous mistake by reducing the goal, and put the ball into the net after good work by Diallo in building the attack.
Out of nowhere, the game became exciting. Dalot and Diallo both had half chances as the visitors looked to close out the game.
Substitutes Marcus Rashford and Lisandro Martinez then fired volleys wide, but Forest held on to end a 30-year wait for a win at Old Trafford.
