"It was a deserved win" - Nuno Espirito Santo reveals what Nottingham Forest did to stop Manchester United
Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo pointed to limiting Manchester United's space as the key reason behind the side's 2-1 triumph over the Red Devils. Speaking after the game, Nuno credited his players' effort for securing the three points.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, he said:
"The secret is the way the players are working. We are here 11 days so the credit is for them and the way they fight as a team.
"I think we started good and had good tempo. We controlled Manchester United. They have a lot of talent and we didn't allow them the space to play and I think it was a deserved win."
Manchester United suffered their ninth loss of the Premier League season on Saturday, December 30. After a drab first half where neither team managed to pose a threat, Forest took the lead in the 64th minute through Nicolas Dominguez.
Marcus Rashford broke his run of six straight Premier League games without a goal with an accurate finish to level things in the 78th minute. However, it did not last long as Morgan Gibbs-White restored the hosts' lead to make it 2-1.
Nuno has had a positive impact since his arrival after Forest sacked Steve Cooper following a run of just one win in 13 games. He has managed to string back-to-back wins over big teams in Newcastle United and Manchester United as the club move away from the bottom three.
Journalist opens up on struggling Manchester United star
Journalist Dean Jones has claimed that Brazilian winger Antony will struggle to live up to his price tag at Manchester United. Speaking to GiveMeSport, he suggested that the 23-year-old needed to improve his decision-making in the final third.
Jones said:
"Antony has slightly improved, and I think the last couple of appearances give reason to believe that there might still be something there. It's just his final ball and it's just his decision-making in that final third that is still frustrating. There will definitely be an element of the Manchester United fan base that are just probably in no belief that this is ever going to be salvaged fully compared to the huge transfer fee they ended up paying for him."
The attacker completed a move from Ajax last summer for a massive £85 million, with then-new manager Erik ten Hag keen on a reunion with him. However, he has had a difficult time adjusting to life in the Premier League.
This season, he has gone 21 appearances without registering a goal or an assist. He was taken off after just 54 minutes in United's 2-1 loss to Nottingham Forest.