It’s been a very long time coming but Nottingham Forest have finally tasted the amber nectar of a victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford once again.
Stan Collymore was impressed with Forest and the last time the club won at the Theatre of Dreams, he bagged the winning goal with a quite brilliant long-range effort.
Fast-forward 30 years and the man of the moment is Chris Wood. Nuno Espirito Santo raved about Wood after he became the club’s record goalscorer in the Premier League era with a tenth goal of the season at Old Trafford.
Forest had heroes all over the pitch against United. Matz Sels was praised by Jason Lee, whilst another pundit hailed the influence of Ryan Yates who once again led his troops into battle and ransacked thre points from one of the Premier League’s juggernauts.
The Reds made history against United on Saturday and after having two players named in the Team of the Week, we took a little look back at a memorable trip to Old Trafford that saw Forest return with all three points.
Nikola Milenkovic of Nottingham Forest celebrates scoring during the Premier League match between Manchester United FC and Nottingham Forest FC at ...
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The four pieces of history Nottingham Forest made in 3-2 win over Manchester United
Nuno Espirito Santo does something special
The Forest head coach is seeing his stock rise considerably this season with the strong work he’s been doing at the City Ground.
Jamie Redknapp hailed Espirito Santo at the weekend and he’s right to suggest that the ridicule following his failed tenure at Tottenham has now got to stop.
On Saturday, the boss became the first manager to beat Manchester United home and away in his first two league games against them in 114 years.
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The win at Old Trafford came on the back of a 2-1 win over the Red Devils in December 2023 when the City Ground was rocking after another victory over United.
Big man for the big occasion
Another feather in the cap of Espirito Santo is the fact that he’s won away at Liverpool and away at Manchester United in the same season.
That has never happened in the history of Nottingham Forest Football Club and not even the legendary Brian Clough could achieve that feat during his trophy-laden period in charge.
Espirito Santo has proved himself as a head coach to relish the big occasions and quite clearly he’s embracing the history of the club rather than fearing it.
Racing out of the blocks
Forest seem to love playing at Old Trafford and after making a dream start last season with two goals in the opening four minutes, the Reds were at it again.
Nikola Milenkovic was praised by Robbie Earle and his goal after less than two minutes was the catalyst for this professional and dogged performance.
It was the quickest goal that any opposing team has scored at Old Trafford since last season when Taiwo Awoniyi opened the scoring early on in the game against United in August 2023.
Starting games quickly is always ideal and clearly it’s something that Espirito Santo is keen for his teams to do.
Wood chops down Bryan Roy
Move over Bryan, there is a new sheriff on the banks of the River Trent.
Roy must have been prepared for this moment but he’s now been shunted down to number two on the list of Premier League goalscorers for Forest.
Wood has been given a nickname by Shay Given this season and he’s now scored 10 goals across the campaign, with his 14 goals in 2023/24 almost certain to be eclipsed.
The 33-year-old richly deserves this accolade and he’s proved everyone wrong since Wood signed from Newcastle for £15 million.
Forest beat Manchester United at Old Trafford in 1994
This game was the last time that Forest managed to claim victory over United on their home turf prior to Saturday.
Forest were well on their way to finishing third in the Premier League during the 1994/95 campaign and the win on that occasion was more of a shock than this one.
United just never lost at home under Sir Alex Ferguson, with home defeats few and far between for a club that used to dominate English football year after year.
Forest went 2-0 up in the game from 30 years ago, with Stuart Pearce and Collymore scoring the goals to silence the Old Trafford faithful.
Eric Cantona did pull one back with 22 minutes remaining but United couldn’t recover the situation and Forest claimed a famous win.
Now, 30 years later, it’s the class of 2024 that have etched their name into Forest folklore as players who went to Old Trafford and claimed a famous win.
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