Tag Archives: Nottingham Forest

Man Utd 2-0 Nottingham Forest (Agg 5-0): Player rating.

Feb 2, 2023 at 1:00 pm Olamide Noble Leave a comment

Manchester United secured their place in only a second major final in six seasons on Wednesday night with a 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford.

Goals from Anthony Martial and Fred decided the game, bumping up an already comfortable aggregate lead from the first leg to 5-0, setting up a clash with Newcastle at Wembley this month.

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The hosts had mild penalty appeals when Alejandro Garnacho went down under pressure from Neco Williams and Willy Boly. But nearly half an hour had passed before either side had a clear sight of goal, with a powerful Casemiro header saved by Wayne Hennessey’s outstretched right foot.

Despite chasing an aggregate deficit, Forest had seen very little of the ball but probably should have taken the lead on a rare foray forward. A throw-in gave Brennan Johnson the chance to dribble his way through, but the pacey Welshman’s finish straight at Tom Heaton lacked conviction.

Antony’s cleanly hit strike from outside the box in the closing stages of the first half had Hennessey worried as he flew to his left, seeing the ball just rise over the crossbar.

Wout Weghorst then struck the post right before the interval after an otherwise quiet opening 45 minutes from the Dutchman, while Forest winger Emmanuel Dennis had his head in his hands when his goal-bound effort was inadvertently blocked by teammate Sam Surridge.

United had stronger penalty appeals not long into the second half when Weghorst nicked the ball in front of Forest defender Scott McKenna, whose attempt to clear then upended the forward. It was given the VAR treatment but the on-field decision surprisingly stood.

Tempers flared a little around the hour mark, with tackles flying and Alejandro Garnacho involved in an ongoing fracas with Johnson and Williams on Forest’s right flank. The young Argentine forced Hennessey into a good save at the near post in one of his final acts before Ten Hag made a flurry of changes, including the return of Jadon Sancho after more than three months out.

With United already starting to turn the screw, those changes triggered the second half goals. The first went to Martial, capitalising on a rebound after fellow sub Marcus Rashford had seen an attempt blocked following an initial run by the Frenchman.

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Sancho was then involved in the second goal not long after, feeding Bruno Fernandes on the right. The United skipper’s exquisite outside-of-the-foot ball to the far post was then put back across the box by Rashford for Fred to score an easy tap-in.

Heaton still had to have his wits about him late on to preserve his clean sheet, throwing a big hand up to parry a powerful drive from Danilo as Forest searched for a very late consolation. With the goal gaping, Surridge skied his own attempt on the rebound.

Man Utd player ratings (4-2-3-1)
GK: Tom Heaton – 6/10 – A deserved opportunity but hardly a busy night until a spectacular late save.

RB: Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 7/10 – Took up an interesting position relatively high up the pitch and often tucked inside that made it difficult for Dennis and made space for Antony.

CB: Lisandro Martinez – 7/10 – Commanded every situation.

CB: Raphael Varane – 7/10 – Always composed and in control.

LB: Luke Shaw – 6/10 – Back after illness and can be satisifed with this performance.

CM: Casemiro – 8/10 – Another fine example of the type of performance that has really driven the whole team’s resurgence this season.

CM: Fred – 7/10 – Has been thriving alongside his fellow countryman and could play an awful lot more now that Christian Eriksen is out for a few months.

RM: Antony – 6/10 – Inches away from a great goal and posed a threat early on.

AM: Bruno Fernandes (c) – 8/10 – Put in a star turn, especially after moving to the right in the seconc half. Went close to a goal of his own late on.

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LM: Alejandro Garnacho – 7/10 – Becoming more and more at home in this team.

ST: Wout Weghorst – 6/10 – A quiet opening 45 minutes until hitting the post on the stroke of half-time. Probably deserved a penalty after the break.

Substitutes
SUB: Marcus Rashford (62′ for Garnacho) – 7/10

SUB: Jadon Sancho (62′ for Antony) – 7/10

SUB: Anthony Martial (63′ for Weghorst) – 7/10

SUB: Victor Lindelof (80′ for Casemiro) – N/A

SUB: Harry Maguire (80′ for Varane) – N/A

Manager
Erik ten Hag – 9/10 – Went with a strong side to avoid any slip-ups, but it was the substitutions and slight tweak in shape as Fernandes moved to the right that made the difference.

Nottingham Forest player ratings (4-2-3-1)
GK: Wayne Hennessey – 6/10 – Made a handful of saves to keep it 0-0 for at least a while.

RB: Neco Williams – 7/10 – Had his hands full with Garnacho but ultimately outlasted his imprssive opponent, before switching to the other side.

CB: Scott McKenna – 5/10 – Arguably fortunate not to give away a penalty for a swinging leg that caught Weghorst.

CB: Willy Boly – 6/10 – Stood tall for long periods until the resistance finally broke.

LB: Renan Lodi – 5/10 – Barely touched the ball and had a tough night of defending.

CM: Remo Freuler (c) – 5/10 – Tough night against a very good United midfield.

CM: Orel Mangala – 5/10 – Similar story to Freuler, found it hard going.

RM: Brennan Johnson – 6/10 – Should have done with a great first half chance that he created himself, having already done the hard bit.

AM: Gustavo Scarpa – 6/10 – Had promising moments just as in the first leg.

LM: Emmanuel Dennis – 5/10 – Late replacement for the injured Jesse Lingard and initially struggled to get into the game. Had one decent chance blocked by his own teammate.

ST: Sam Surridge – 5/10 – With little of the ball, frustrations got the better of him when he cleaned out Raphael Varane to pick up a yellow card.

Substitutes
SUB: Alex Mighten (64′ for Johnson) – 5/10

SUB: Danilo (64′ for Freuler) – 6/10

SUB: Serge Aurier (65′ for Lodi) – 5/10

SUB: Oliver Hammond (86′ for Scarpa) – N/A

SUB: Detlef Osong (86′ for Surridge) – N/A

Manager
Steve Cooper – 7/10 – Set up his side well and they did admirably to hold out for as long as they did.

Player of the match – Bruno Fernandes (Man Utd)

Man U sees “top four advantage” as Rashford shines in 3-0 victory against Nottingham Forest.

Dec 28, 2022 at 2:28 am Olamide Noble Leave a comment

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Manchester United were faster, sharper, smarter, and classier than Nottingham Forest in this seventh straight win over their visitors.

This was approaching the complete performance: a blend of measured attacking and rapid breaks and the constant harrying of an opponent who ended exhausted and demoralised.

Given United had scored only 20 Premier League goals at kickoff and there is limited finance in January to replace Cristiano Ronaldo, a strike apiece from Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial before Fred’s late clincher was as fine a tonic as the three points which keep them on the heels of Tottenham. (Watch Video Here)

Freedom is one more adjective to describe how, 23 years after United spanked Forest 8-1 at the City Ground (Ole Gunnar Solskjær scoring four in 10 minutes), this Erik ten Hag side applied a similar schooling on what was, for most of the contest, a classic rain-lashed Mancunian night.

Of this first post-World Cup Premier League outing Ten Hag said: “You always question yourself after a break what will be the restart – the back four never played together and a player who never played in a centre-back position … and if you win three, concede no goal, you are happy with the performance.”

Luke Shaw lined up to partner the excellent Raphaël Varane versus a Forest side who had won their past three matches (two in the League Cup): their finest run of the campaign. (Watch Video Here)

The sequence appeared likely to end from the moment United began rolling the ball about. Rashford, Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes and Aaron Wan-Bissaka spun Forest out of position and went close to scoring after Christian Eriksen joined them.

A prevailing criticism of United in the past decade has been how they are pre-eminently a counterattacking proposition and so another Rashford-Wan-Bissaka pattern that again had the latter pinging over – towards Martial – offered further encouragement.

The opener came from a corner on the right. Eriksen’s delivery – rolled along the turf – came out of the coaches’ playbook and there was Rashford to hammer home for a fifth in the competition. (Watch Video Here)

United’s No 10 may be in the form of his career – as his next act further evidenced. This time he turned creator, sliding a crafty pass to Martial who, from range, pulled the trigger. Hennessey dived low and right and spilled the ball over the line for five in nine appearances for the No 9.

Rashford was rampant. A bullocking run drew a yellow card, before a backheel, a feathered touch, and an incisive charge that cast Renan Lodi as amateurish were further dashes of menace. “I’m enjoying it,” he said. “Every forward always has a number they want to try to reach, and mine is to score more than I ever have before in a season – that’s 22.” (Watch Video Here)

As impressive was the hounding Forest received from United in any moment of possession – Casemiro, Varane and Eriksen often hunting in a pack. Yet, now, Willy Boly got the last touch on a Lodi set piece to score. But, in the melee, Ryan Yates’s header had hit the centre-back’s leg and, following one of those age-like VAR delays, this was chalked off for the Ivorian standing offside.

Manchester United had 69.5% possession by half-time. This was definitely their match to close out at a canter. The unplayable Rashford next popped up on the left and, using Martial’s run as a decoy, landed the ball at Fernandes’s feet. He tapped it right and the onrushing Antony should not have allowed Hennessey to repel his close-range shot. Martial, too, smacked off Hennessey’s legs – Fernandes again the provider – as United toyed with Cooper’s men. (Watch Video Here)

Donny van de Beek, brought off the bench, lashed a shot off Remo Freuler, Fernandes tried to lob Hennessey from halfway, and Alejandro Garnacho (another substitute) ripped down the left: this was a joyous display. Now came the third: Casemiro prodded the ball to Fred and another of the manager’s substitutes had scored. “Disappointment is my reflection,” Steve Cooper, Forest’s manager, said.

Nottingham Forest confirm Renan Lodi loan move.

Aug 30, 2022 at 7:00 am Olamide Noble Leave a comment

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Nottingham Forest have completed the signing of Atletico Madrid full-back Renan Lodi on a season-long loan deal.

The Brazilian is Forest’s 19th signing of what has been a quite extraordinary summer of spending, and joins initially until the end of the season with an option to buy.

Lodi is the third left-back Forest have purchased this summer, after Harry Toffolo and Omar Richards’ arrivals earlier in the window, though the latter is sidelined after sustaining a leg fracture in training.

90min understands that Forest are also closing in on the signing of free agent and former Tottenham Hotspur right-back Serge Aurier. The Ivorian left Villarreal at the end of the 2021/22 season after the Spaniards opting against exercising a two-year contract extension written into the deal he signed when leaving north London

Forest’s start to life back in the Premier League has been mixed so far, with Steve Cooper’s side picking up just one win in four games. Dean Henderson, on loan from Manchester United, has shone in goal, but not even his penalty save from Harry Kane on Sunday could prevent Forest from slipping to a 2-0 defeat at the City Ground.

Just two goals have been scored by Cooper’s side, who have completely overhauled their squad after returning to the Premier League for the first time in 23 years.

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