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Man Utd reach near 40-year low with another home loss; City fail to win again - PL wrap

Nottingham Forest condemned Manchester United to a second straight Premier League defeat on Saturday, beating Ruben Amorim’s men 3-2 at Old Trafford.

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The visitors took the lead in the second minute through Nikola Milenkovic but Rasmus Hojlund levelled.

United were rocked again at the start of the second half by Morgan Gibbs-White, and Chris Wood made it 3-1.

Bruno Fernandes struck a fine shot from just outside the box to give United hope just after the hour mark but it was not enough.

Amorim started his United reign last month with a draw followed by two wins but predicted the club would “suffer for a long time” as he battled to improve their fortunes.

Reality is now starting to bite after a 2-0 defeat at Arsenal in midweek followed by the Forest reverse at home.

Milenkovic left United goalkeeper Andre Onana rooted to the spot in the second minute, powering home a header from a corner -- the third straight goal United had conceded from a corner.

The home side were level in the 18th minute after Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels could only parry Alejandro Garnacho’s shot and Hojlund steered home.

Forest made another lighting start to the second half, when Gibbs-White let fly with a swerving shot from distance that beat Onana.

Forest extended their lead in the 54th minute when Wood took advantage of more uncertainty in the United defence to head home.

Fernandes pulled one back after patient play from Amad Diallo, who laid it off to the United captain, who whipped it into the back of the net.

The win lifts Forest to fifth in the Premier League table but United are languishing in 13th spot and Amorim is facing a huge task.

**MAN CITY HELD BY PALACE, MERSEYSIDE DERBY POSTPONED**

Manchester City failed to win for the eighth time in nine games in a 2-2 draw at Crystal Palace on Saturday as high winds caused the Merseyside derby between Everton and Liverpool to be postponed.

City had the chance to go second in the Premier League but failed to build on a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest in midweek, which had appeared to stop the rot for the English champions.

Pep Guardiola’s men got off to the worst possible start at Selhurst Park when Daniel Munoz raced on to Will Hughes’ pass to fire Palace in front after four minutes.

Erling Haaland’s towering header from Matheus Nunes’ cross brought City back level and took the Norwegian level with Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah on 13 Premier league goals in the battle for the Golden Boot.

The visitors started the second half strongly but were hit with a sucker punch when Maxence Lacroix powered home Hughes’ corner.

Rico Lewis found the top corner to level once more for City, but was then sent-off six minutes from time.

“We fought incredible. We came back twice,” said Guardiola.

“We gave everything and we take a point.” Fourth-placed City close to within eight points of leaders Liverpool, but more dropped points is another blow to their chances of making it five consecutive titles.

The final league derby between Everton and Liverpool at Goodison Park will have to be rescheduled after Storm Darragh battered western regions of England with high winds and heavy rain.

A decision was made just after 0800GMT local time to postpone the lunchtime kick-off due to safety concerns.

“Whilst we appreciate this will be deeply disappointing for supporters, the safety of fans, staff and players is of paramount importance,” Everton said in a statement.

**\- Brentford’s fortress -**

Brentford enjoy the best home record in the division and made it seven wins from eight games at the Gtech Community Stadium with a thrilling 4-2 victory over Newcastle.

Bryan Mbeumo, who has been linked with a move to the Magpies, opened the scoring with a sensational individual effort.

Twice Newcastle quickly levelled in the first half through Alexander Isak and Harvey Barnes, either side of Yoane Wissa’s second for Brentford.

But calamitous defending cost Newcastle in the second period when Nathan Collins prodded home from goalkeeper Mark Flekken’s long ball forward.

Kevin Schade then sealed the points for the Bees in stoppage time. Brentford climb up to sixth, while Newcastle drop down to 12th. “The players are growing, a lot of the players here for a while have taken another step up,” said Brentford boss Thomas Frank.

“I would like to carry on this home form but some wins on the road would be welcome too.” Aston Villa moved up to fifth thanks to a 1-0 win over bottom-of-the-table Southampton.

Jhon Duran made his mark in his first Premier League start of the season with the only goal.

The Colombian took advantage of another defensive calamity for the Saints to run through and slot home his ninth goal of the season on 24 minutes.

Liverpool’s postponement means Arsenal and Chelsea have the chance the cut the gap at the top to four points when they travel to Fulham and Tottenham respectively on Sunday.

**CITY SQUAD TOO THIN TO COPE WITH INJURIES**

Bernardo Silva said Manchester City’s mounting injury problems are behind a dramatic collapse from the English champions after they failed to win for the eighth time in nine games in a 2-2 draw at Crystal Palace.

Twice City were forced to come from behind at Selhurst Park through Erling Haaland and Rico Lewis after Daniel Munoz and Maxence Lacroix had put 16th-placed Palace in front.

Lewis was then sent off meaning he will be suspended for next weekend’s derby against Manchester United, adding to Pep Guardiola’s defensive problems.

Defenders John Stones, Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji were all missing due to injury, while holding midfielders Mateo Kovacic and Rodrigo are also sidelined.

Phil Foden, last season’s Premier League player of the year, has missed the last two matches due to illness but could be back to face United.

“We have to solve our problem in terms of injuries. That’s so, so important,” said Silva. “If the squad is this short then it is always so difficult for all the players to play three days after three days.

“We don’t feel sorry for ourselves and have to fight anyway. Of course we have to fight with what we have at the moment. But with a squad of 20 players, if you only have 13 available, it is not good enough.” Five of the seven outfield players on City’s bench against Palace were youngsters from the club’s academy.

City face a crucial trip to Italian giants Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday before turning their attention to the derby on December 15.

Guardiola said he was “proud” of his players’ efforts for finding the resolve to at least salvage a point despite their struggles to hit top form.

“So proud of the team. I liked everything of the team, how we fought,” said the City boss.

“We have a lot of problems with our squad.. We fought incredible. We came back twice. We gave everything and we take a point.”

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