Manchester United fell to defeat away at Nottingham Forest as former Carrington star Anthony Elanga came back to haunt his former club as he scored the game's only goal
21:59, 01 Apr 2025Updated 22:07, 01 Apr 2025
Ruben Amorim
Ruben Amorim saw his Man Utd team beaten again(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Ruben Amorim saw his Manchester United side beaten 1-0 by Nottingham Forest in their return to Premier League action.
United travelled to the City Ground looking to set the record straight from the 3-2 defeat at Old Trafford in December. Amorim was just weeks into his tenure then and the journey of the road back to the top didn’t look so long and painful for the Red Devils.
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But the night got off to the worst possible start for the visitors when former Carrington academy graduate Anthony Elanga opened the scoring just five minutes into the game as he found the perfect finishing touch to a sublime solo run from deep inside his own half.
United reacted well and were the better team for the remainder of the first-half as they pushed for an equaliser, dominating the ball and providing the majority of the efforts on goal, but were unable to get on level terms.
However, United commanded less control of the contest and Forest took the initiative after the break following Amorim’s decision to withdraw Manuel Ugarte for Rasmus Hojlund. An attacking change meant to see the visitors make their advantage count, appeared to backfire.
United showed their teeth again in the final third of the game but were unable to find an equaliser after Mason Mount went the closest on his return from injury before Harry Maguire saw a last-gasp effort cleared off the line.
Here, the Daily Star Sport looks at what Amorim learned as United fell to defeat at the City Ground.
Anthony Elanga
United allowed Elanga to leave Old Trafford for just £15million in 2023, and the Swede has proved to be a bargain for Forest.
Notching 11 goals and 17 assists in the Premier League since for the Tricky Trees, after registering just eight goal involvements for United in 55 games, Elanga has gone on to find form and freedom away from Old Trafford.
Anthony Elanga
Anthony Elanga scored against his former club
This isn’t taking aim at United’s decision to sell Elanga, while maybe premature given he’s only 22 - Elanga went the entire 2022/23 season without a goal and his quality to play for the Red Devils was regularly scrutinised.
However, it’s another case of a player starring away from the Theatre of Dreams after being deemed not good enough. An all too common damning verdict of the state of the club, and made worse when it directly damages them.
Passive defending
Elanga will receive the plaudits, and rightly so. But United’s defending for the goal was woeful.
After picking the ball up from the halfway line, Elanga brushed off Alejandro Garnacho’s tackle with ease as he exploded almost the length of the pitch. And his run evidently struck fear in Patrick Dorgu and Noussair Mazraoui.
As he reached the edge of the box unchallenged, Elanga slowed down to set himself for the strike. And if it wasn’t bad enough, no United player had closed him down earlier, and were too naïve to foul him, he was allowed to pull the trigger in his own time.
Neither Mazraoui or Dorgu made an attempt to challenge Elanga and showed again that United have been a soft touch defensively and in transition all too often.
Kobbie Mainoo
The way the game panned out would have seemingly been the perfect chance for Kobbie Mainoo to show his worth, with his quality and composure in possession to play forward absent with the 19-year-old missing through injury.
Mainoo’s future at Old Trafford is uncertain, something that would have been ridiculous to think less than 12 months ago. But his ongoing contract situation hitting the buffers, his homegrown value for financial gains, and seemingly being void of a role in Amorim’s system, make a summer exit a real possibility.
Casemiro
Casemiro was substituted after escaping a second yellow card(Image: PA)
However, the silky midfielder would have fit the bill for United perfectly tonight. Casemiro and Ugarte were allowed plenty of time on the ball, but their inability to find a forward pass and play in tight areas as well as Mainoo really hindered United in the first-half.
And led to Amorim’s half-time sub, which saw the Red Devils surrender the control they had.
Half-time change
United dominated the ball in the first-half, seeing 69 percent possession but were ultimately unable to break Forest down, especially when the hosts switched to a back five.
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Amorim’s team moved the ball around well and were promising, but the Portuguese wasn’t prepared to waste time as he introduced Rasmus Hojlund for Manuel Ugarte, seeing Bruno Fernandes drop alongside Casemiro into midfield.
However, the change saw the visitors give up their dominance in possession with Forest pressing for a second goal, and looking more likely to get it, after the break.