Hojlund shines, Garnacho awful: Man United player ratings vs Nottingham Forest
Man United were left frustrated after being beaten 1-0 by Nottingham Forest at The City Ground.
Things did not start well for Ruben Amorim‘s side in that match, as one of the club’s former players made an immediate impact against them.
With just five minutes on the clock, a Man United corner came to nothing, and instead allowed Anthony Elanga to spring a counter attack.
The Sweden international produced a stunning sprint that covered almost the entire length of the pitch, before firing past Andre Onana to put Nottingham Forest 1-0 up.
That was enough to ensure Man United trailed at the break, and although they would push for an equaliser in the second half, with substitute Harry Maguire twice going close they failed to find the net.
As a result, the Red Devils were condemned to another Premier League defeat this season, as their disappointing domestic campaign continues.
| Man United last five games | Result |
| Real Sociedad (A) | Drew 1-1 |
| Arsenal (H) | Drew 1-1 |
| Real Sociedad (H) | Won 4-1 (won 5-2 on aggregate) |
| Leicester City (A) | Won 3-0 |
| Nottingham Forest (A) | Lost 1-0 |
Here is how Football Insider rated the performances of the Man United squad in that clash with Nottingham Forest.
Andre Onana – 6
Onana is facing speculation around his Man United future but remains first-choice for now. Didn’t have much to do after conceding the opener other than produce an excellent save from the offside Yates after that.
Leny Yoro – (off for Maguire, ’88) – 6
Wasn’t put through a great deal of work but did make some decent interventions to prevent Nottingham Forest getting a chance to extend their lead.
Matthijs de Ligt – 5
Not a night where he was overly-troubled from a defensive perspective, although that wasn’t enough for his side to keep a clean sheet.
Noussair Mazraoui – 4
Didn’t cover himself in glory by standing off Elanga to allow him to break into the Man United area for the goal, and never saw a chance to really redeem himself in either area.
Diogo Dalot – 6
Saw a header come back off the crossbar from a corner in the first half, which was his most meaningful contribution to the game.
Casemiro and Ugarte underwhelm in Man United midfield
Casemiro (off for Eriksen, ’59) – 5
Reasonably solid in defnce but unable to make much happen as Man United looked for an equaliser after conceding early.
Manuel Ugarte (off for Hojlund, ’46) – 5
An underwhelming night for the Uruguayan, who offered little in terms of creativity despite Nottingham Forest allowing their visitors plenty of possession in the first half.
Patrick Dorgu – 6
Has been a threat from an attacking perspective in recent games, but struggled to show that on a consistent basis at The City Ground, struggling to get into the hosts’ penalty area with the ball.
Bruno Fernandes – 5
Fernandes was in outstanding form for Man United prior to the international break, but playing as one of the two 10s rather than in a deeper role in this one, the captain couldn’t show that same influence here.
Ruben Amorim makes surprise Zirkzee over Hojlund call
Alejandro Garnacho – 3
Garnacho is among those touted to leave Man United this summer, and this performance would not leave fans concerned about that. Outmuscled by Elanha for the goal, failed to look much of a threat in attack, guilty of some loose passes and picked up a foolish yellow card. What happened to him? Stank the place out again.
Joshua Zirkzee -(off for Mount, ’78) – 5
Zirkzee was given the nod at centre-forward here, but after some determined and encouraging performances in recent weeks, this felt like a more anonymous showing.
Substitutes
Rasmus Hojlund (on for Ugarte, ’46) – 8 – Man of the Match
After Hojlund had finally scored for Man United and Denmark in the past couple of weeks, it was a surprise to see him start on the bench here. His movement did offer his side of an outlet to aim for but he was largely starved of service. Showed he should have been in the starting line-up but still couldn’t make the difference.
Christian Eriksen (on for Casemiro, ’59) – 5
On to try and create more in midfield than Casemiro and Ugarte but struggled to do so. Booked for stopping Elanga from launching another counter attack from a corner the Dane had taken.
Mason Mount (on for Zirkzee, ’78) – 6
A rare outing for the injury-plagued midfielder, almost scored seconds after coming on with a long range effort that went just past the post. Quiet after that.
Harry Maguire (on for Yoro, ’88) – 4
Sent on late as an emergency centre-forward in search of an equaliser, and somehow headed way wide from close range in stoppage time, before Murillo denied him with a stunning goal-line clearance in the very final seconds.