Nottingham Forest held onto a 1-0 lead supplied by a sensational solo goal by Anthony Elanga in the fifth minute.
The Swedish international ran the full length of the pitch in a blistering transition, keeping the ball expertly under control. He covered 85 metres of turf in 9 seconds before slotting between the Man United defenders with his left foot.
It was a dream start for Nottingham Forest, who invited The Red Devils onto them and used their threat with transitions. With two shots on target, and another clean sheet which puts them one above Liverpool, it was the expected game plan which proved a success once more.
Murillo’s last ditch goal line clearance in the last minute of the game denied substitute Harry Maguire from taking a point back to Manchester.
The Tricky Trees completed the league double over Man United for the first time since 1992, and demonstrated their resolute defending, ability to score first, and ability to maintain their lead until the very end.
Here are our player ratings:
Matz Sels - 7
Nothing too troubling for Matz Sels to contend with, but his five saves and positioning to smother the ball in many instances away from the onrushing United attackers made for a solid display from the Belgian.
Forest now have the most clean sheets in the Premier League with 13, one more than Liverpool. To keep Arsenal, Man City, and Man United from scoring seems testament to the fortress the City Ground has become in spurring on consistently imperious defending.
Sels has very much hit the best form of his career, and his accurate long balls to advance Forest up the pitch once again played a big part in the performance.
Ola Aina - 7
Worrying signs for Forest fans as the Nigerian international limped off down the tunnel in the 39th minute of the match. Aina offered stability with and without the ball, also allowing Elanga on the right side the license to drive up the pitch.
He has started every game this campaign in the top flight so it will feel strange for the ever-present Aina to step aside.
This could be a moment of realisation for Nuno about the importance of using the squad, and Forest are awaiting confirmation of the extent of the injury. Aina will be going for a scan to see the outcome.
Nikola Milenkovic - 8
The centre-back scored his very first goal for the club against Man United at Old Trafford in December with a powerful header from a corner in the 2nd minute. But, what he gives Forest principally is organisation and intimidation from the back.
He had the least touches of any player in this game, however, he won every single one of his duels and was adamant to not concede. His brief confrontation with Gibbs-White, who seemed to not be tracking back with the vigour the Serb would expect, epitomises the attitude he adopts with defending and getting the three points.
Murillo - 9
The most significant action of the match was Murillo’s goal line clearance to save Forest from dropping points, as Harry Maguire prodded his effort towards goal, tumbling to the floor in the last minute.
Despite the care the Brazilian usually takes on the ball to get out of pressure, he was at the forefront of an array of clearances, and he positioned himself so well throughout to avert danger and prevent United attacks from building.
Neco Williams - 8
Williams was committed to every challenge on both sides of the pitch, as Nuno’s reshuffling of the defensive line towards the end of the first half with Aina forced off injured, put Williams onto the right.
He was still crisp on the ball, and made the extra run and extra effort to block every ball. He handled Alejandro Garnacho intelligently and with aggression to reduce him to a largely quiet affair.
Missing a penalty in the Brighton game could have been a mental blow, but he had the character to bounce back. It looked like the penalty miss never happened and it also did not look like he played a lengthy 120 minutes on Saturday.
Ryan Yates - 9
The captain in the midfield showed every attribute the team around him is known for. It was a gripping battle in the middle of the park at the City Ground against Bruno Fernandes particularly.
Yates competed strongly in the tackles and drew countless fouls and loose passes from **Ruben Amorim**’s midfielders. A series of blocks and clearances amongst his tireless running led by example to push Forest over the line and set the tone for what was required defensively.
It seemed that every time you looked up Yates was in battle, visibly frustrating the visitors from getting any rhythm.
Elliot Anderson - 8
He coolly opened the scoring in the penalty shootout in the FA Cup quarter-final and ran himself into the ground with a monumental shift. He still made sure he was tracking the United players in the right areas and supporting his teammates behind him in closing the spaces.
Before coming off in the 67th minute, he was instrumental in getting his team back setup into position to prevent Man United in their transitions, and he was at the centre of a compact formation that was hard to break through.
Danilo - 6
The Brazilian started on the left midfield as Callum Hudson-Odoi was not included in Nuno Espírito Santo’s matchday squad due to a personal matter.
He was comfortable with the ball and did not look out of place, despite not possessing the same qualities of Hudson-Odoi.
Danilo was substituted off the pitch just before the 40 minute mark as Nuno settled on making a tactical adjustment. Nevertheless, when he had the ball at his feet under pressure and when required to close down the United players he consistently showed up.
Morgan Gibbs-White - 7
A slightly quieter game from Gibbs-White whose only real sight of goal came when he sprinted to support Taiwo Awoniyi, but could not get his shot away through a crowd of bodies after some intricate ball control.
He had to be willing to put in the hard yards defensively, and less opportunities fell for him to make his usual passes that spread the ball out to the wingers on the counter attack.
Anthony Elanga - 9
Elanga scored 4 goals in 55 appearances for Man United, and Ruben Amorim will be looking at the winger surely wishing for the intent to drive up the pitch and to score to be in his United side.
The Swede darted up the pitch with the ball at his feet with electric pace for his goal very early on in the tie.
When it came to the decisive moment, many players could have made a costly error, yet Elanga opted to shoot with his left foot accurately into the corner instead of passing to Gibbs-White, which he reaped the rewards of.
How he applied pressure from the front was filled with the same intent he had when he attacked, which further cemented him as the star man not just with his goal, but in all aspects of his game.
Taiwo Awoniyi - 7
Awoniyi earned his third start in the Premier League this season for Nottingham Forest. Considering the home side had won just one of their five Premier League games without Chris Wood this term, the pressure was on given what was riding on this game.
The 27-year-old striker offered a different kind of threat with more pace in the counter attack, and holding off Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt was a considerable strength. He brought his teammates into play and caused the centre-backs continuous trouble with his physicality.
Substitutes
Alex Moreno - 7
The Spaniard replaced Ola Aina and came on at left-back, where he offered a good outlet further forward, often running forward beyond the United defensive line, given the absence of Hudson-Odoi.
Despite his lack of minutes across the season, he looked far from out of place especially with the ball, and the Forest fans could have little doubt over his effect on the team.
Morato - 6
Nuno chose to go to a back three in the 39th minute. Morato did not allow the opposition any space and worked well with Milenkovic and Murillo by his side to stop United having anything too clear-cut.
Nicolás Domínguez - 6
Another well rounded performance from the Argentine in his half an hour in the midfield. The job was quite clear and that was to be solid and switched on defensively.
Domínguez had been favoured to start much more recently by his manager, and proved once again his worth to the team with and without the ball.
Ibrahim Sangaré - 6
When Forest needed to get themselves on the ball and get themselves up the pitch to kill some time, Sangaré was there to do that in the closing stages really well.
Ramón Sosa - 6
The Paraguayan international had not been handed much game time this season, and seems to be a player put on to give Forest the last bit of energy. He was tidy on the ball and showed what he could do if he was given more opportunities.