Manchester United wrapped up the home stretch of games for the season at Old Trafford on Sunday, winning 3-2 against Nottingham Forest to further cement their place in the Top 4. The day brought a record-equalling assist for Bruno Fernandes and a well-deserved send-off for Casemiro in his final home game.
The Reds came right out on the front foot with a flurry of chances.
It looked as though the chance would fall to one of United’s forwards, but it bounced and sat nicely for Luke Shaw to rip a low
shot into the bottom corner and put the Reds up 1-0 after just five minutes of play.
The first half performance could, and probably should, have led to more goals. Bruno Fernandes, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo all had looks at the target and couldn’t capitalize, with the latter having the best chance and hitting the upright in the 21st minute.
They would take a 1-0 lead into the halftime break, but Nottingham Forest drew level eight minutes after the restart. A corner routine led to a cross for Morato to head home in the 53rd, capitalizing on some confused defending and a pick set to interrupt Harry Maguire in the box.
It lit a fire under Untied, and the response was immediate.
The Reds got forward and a cross for Mbeumo set up a golden chance to equalize. He had an awkward time controlling a pass at his midsection, which also took a deflection onto his upper arm before he could fire a deflected shot. The ricochet fell perfectly for Cunha to arrive and put United back on top, but there was a lengthy VAR check for handball. Eventually, common sense won and the goal stood.
United continued to press for more. Again Mbeumo had a perfect opportunity to score and get Bruno level in the assist race, but he skied his chance through on goal. He made up for it in the 76th minute though, turning Bruno’s cross on target for his first goal in a couple of months and Bruno’s 20th assist.
The chase for 21 was made more difficult by a mass substitution to replace Cunha, Mbeumo and Casemiro with players who simply do not score goals. Joshua Zirkzee, Diogo Dalot and Mason Mount all got looks while Bruno himself had some chances and couldn’t get the right ball out or shot off.
There will be one more opportunity on the road at Brighton & Hove Albion next week. For now, it’s another three points to send off the season at Old Trafford and Casemiro to the next stage of his career.
