Three major talking points as Man United beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 to boost their top-four chances

Manchester United boosted their chances to secure a top-four finish in the Premier League by beating Nottingham Forest 2-0 at the City Ground.

Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof started at the back with injuries to Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez. Diogo Dalot also came into the side in place of Tyrell Malacia who missed out due to a sore knee.

Marcel Sabitzer was named in the starting XI but he was forced to withdraw from the team just minutes before kick-off due to a groin injury. Christian Eriksen replaced him, marking his first start since January 2023.

Anthony Martial led the line with Jadon Sancho and Antony on either flank of the attack.

Antony opened the scoring for United after Keylor Navas spilt Martial’s shot on his path. The Brazilian turned into a provider in the second half, assisting Dalot to double the visitor’s lead. 

Here are our three talking points from this clash.

Spectacular Bruno Fernandes continues to deliver 

Fernandes put on a world-class performance at City Ground. He played as a number 10 today with Eriksen and Casemiro behind him. He created the most chances by any player on the pitch (5) and had the most passes in the final third (36).

United’s number eight could have bagged a hat-trick if not for the three wonderful saves made by the former Real Madrid shot-stopper. Fernandes rightly won the Man of the Match award, ahead of Antony who bagged a goal and an assist.

The midfielder maestro is a leader at the club and deserves to be United’s permanent captain next campaign.

Antony and Dalot step up

The Brazilian ace produced another lively performance after his impressive display against Sevilla in the mid-week. He broke the deadlock by tapping the ball past Navas for his first league goal since October. 

He played a perfectly weighted pass to Dalot who fired his shot into the net to extend United’s lead. 

Dalot played as an inverted left-back as Malacia and Shaw were out injured. Apart from one error he made at the stroke of half-time, he took up some intelligent positions and excelled as an attacking full-back.

Top-four finish is not too far for Manchester United now

Victory over Nottingham Forest takes the Red Devils to the third spot in the league table. 

They are six points ahead of fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur and also have a game in hand.

It turned out to be a great weekend for Man United overall as Newcastle and Spurs lost their respective games. 

The gap between the third and the fifth spot is a significant one. With eight league games to go, United are hot favourites to secure the Champions League football for next season. 

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