Rio Ferdinand calls out Manchester United players after their 2-1 loss to Nottingham Forest
Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has lambasted the Red Devils for their lack of urgency in their 2-1 Premier League defeat at Nottingham Forest on Saturday (December 30).
The visitors fell behind after 64 minutes at the City Ground, with Nicolas Dominguez opening the scoring. United rallied, capitalising on a poor clearance from Forest custodian Matt Turner, to level proceedings through Marcus Rashford.
However, parity proved shortlived, as United were caught out at the back in a counterattack kickstarted by Turner. Morgan Gibbs-White curled home a delightful effort in the 82nd minute to restore Forest's lead.
Nuno Espirito Santo's side survived a tense 10 minutes of stoppage time, with United throwing the kitchen sink at the hosts but to no avail. It was their first league win over the Red Devils in nearly three decades.
Ferdinand was far from amused with the seeming lack of urgency by United, tweeting:
"Waited until 90th minute to show any urgency… ffs!"
The loss kept Manchester United in seventh place in the standings - with 31 points from 20 games - as 2023 ends in a defeat. Meanwhile, Forest rose up to 15th with 20 points from as many outings, registering only their fifth league win of the season.
"It's hard to argue that Manchester United are the most boring team in the Premier League" - Chris Sutton
Former England striker Chris Sutton couldn't help but agree with the notion that the Red Devils are the most 'boring' team in the Premier League at the moment.
In the absence of striker Rasmus Hojlund - who scored a late winner at home to Aston Villa in midweek - Ten Hag's side ventured forward without much purpose. In fact, Forest scored twice despite having an xG (expected goals value) lower than United's (0.74-0.77).
Sutton said on BBC after the game:
"I had someone message me earlier asking if Manchester are the most boring team in the Premier League. You know what, it's hard to argue with that."
Following their ninth league loss of the season and 14th across competitions, Ten Hag's future plunges into doubt. Manchester United will next be in action on January 8 at Wigan Athletic in their FA Cup opener.