English Premier League: Manchester United Rally To Beat Nottingham Forest, Fulham Hold Arsenal

Manchester: Manchester United came from two goals down to beat Nottingham Forest 3-2 in the English Premier League on Saturday as Bruno Fernandes’ 76th-minute penalty completed a comeback after the visitors went down to 10 men.

United had its worst-ever start to a Premier League game as poor defending helped give Forest a 2-0 lead after less than four minutes. Taiwo Awoniyi put Forest ahead on a counterattack after just 86 seconds, with Willy Boly quickly doubling the lead from a free kick.

It was the first time United trailed by two goals four minutes into a Premier League match, but Christian Eriksen pulled one back by converting a cross from Marcus Rashford in the 17th. Casemiro wasted a great chance to level but made amends shortly after halftime when the midfielder slotted home at the end of a clever free kick routine.

Joe Worrall was shown a straight red card for denying Fernandes a goalscoring opportunity in the 67th, and the United captain then scored the winner from the spot after Danilo was adjudged to have brought down Rashford.

It secured a second win in three games for United, after falling to a 2-0 loss at Tottenham last weekend. “It wasn’t the perfect start for us but we kept control, kept the ball and started doing the right things,” Fernandes said. “They defended well with a lot of players and it was difficult to get through, but we got the result and that’s the most important thing.” United duo Mason Mount and Luke Shaw both missed the game with injuries.

Arsenal Held To 2-2 Draw By Fulham

Joao Palhinha scored in the 87th minute to give 10-man Fulham a 2-2 draw at Arsenal. Arsenal gifted Fulham the lead after just 57 seconds after a defensive howler but came back to lead 2-1 thanks to second-half goals from Bukayo Saka and Eddie Nketiah.

But the hosts couldn’t see out the win as Palhinha was left unmarked to slot home a corner for the late equalizer. That was despite Fulham going a man down when Calvin Bassey was shown a second yellow card in the 83rd.

Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus came on for his first appearance of the season after a knee injury but the Gunners couldn’t find a winner through nine minutes of injury time. It was Arsenal’s first dropped points of the campaign after opening with two wins, and the setback was largely self-inflicted.

Fulham took an early lead when Saka misplayed a back pass, sending Andreas Pereira through on goal with goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale stranded well outside his area. As Ramsdale backpedaled toward goal, Pereira calmly slotted the ball past him into the open net.

Arsenal missed a handful of decent chances to equalize in the first half, with Gabriel Martinelli drawing three saves from Bernd Leno alone. Kai Havertz had the best chance in the 11th minute when Saka met a cross at the far post and poked the ball across goal toward the German, who lunged in but only managed to poke it wide of the net.

Arsenal gifted Fulham another chance when Ben White let the ball drop to Raul Jimenez, who nearly scored with a spectacular overhead kick that sailed just wide of the post.

Jimenez returned to the Emirates for the first time since 2020 when a head collision while playing for Wolverhampton left him with a fractured skull that sidelined him for nearly a year.

Arsenal struggled to create quality chances in a second half played in the middle of a thunder storm that lit up the sky above Emirates Stadium, until substitute Fabio Vieira helped turn the game around. The Portuguese midfielder first earned a penalty when he was brought down in the area, and Saka calmly converted from the spot.

Nketiah then put Arsenal ahead minutes later by poking home a low cross from Vieira. Fulham complained that play went on despite Bassey staying down after a challenge on Saka in the area moments earlier and Fulham manager Marco Silva was booked for his protests.

Arsenal looked set to see out the win when Bassey was sent off, but more sloppy defending from a corner allowed Fulham to equalize. Vieira nearly capped his impactful cameo by netting the winner deep into injury time, but Leno tipped his curling shot over the bar.