Football

Nottingham Forest vs Manchester United Player Ratings

April 16, 2023 6:58 pm
Nottingham Forest vs Manchester United Player Ratings
Nottingham, England, 16th April 2023. Antony of Manchester United celebrates scoring the first goal during the Premier League match at the City Ground, Nottingham. Picture credit should read: Simon Bellis / Sportimage - Photo by Icon sport

Nottingham Forest Player Ratings

Keylor Navas 9/10 – Managed to single-handedly somehow keep the score at 1-0 for most of the second half. The pick of his saves was from a Bruno Fernandes rocket that looked destined for the top corner.

Neco Williams  6/10 – Was pinned back by Jadon Sancho and found it difficult throughout.

Felipe 6/10 – Made some important tackles but couldn’t really get to grasps with Anthony Martial. Found it easier against Wout Weghorst.

Scott McKenna 5/10 – First league start in two months and you could tell.

Moussa Niakhaté 4/10 – Passed a late fitness test to play but perhaps should have stayed on the bench.

Renan Lodi 5/10 – Did well against Antony in the first half but struggled in the second half as United dominated.

Danilo 3/10 – Gave Eriksen and Fernandes far too much time and space in midfield.

Remo Freuler 3/10 – Was also guilty of giving United’s midfield too much space and was wasteful on the ball.

Morgan Gibbs-White 5/10 – Worked hard and caused Casemiro a few problems but never threatened the goal.

Brennan Johnson 4/10 – The Welsh forward was anonymous throughout.

Taiwo Awoniyi 6/10 – Looked like Forest’s biggest threat early on and could have possibly given the home side the lead early on. He faded as the game went on.

Substitutes

Sam Surridge 6/10 – Failed to make an impression off the bench.

Orel Mangala 6/10 – Came on with half an hour to go but could do nothing to stop United’s dominance.

Emmanuel Dennis 6/10 – Came on too late to make an impact.

Jesse Lingard 6/10 – Came on too late to make an impact.

Manchester United Player Ratings

David de Gea 6/10 – Made life difficult at times for his team by refusing to come off his line for corners but did everything else with relative ease.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka 7/10 – Looks like a better player each week on and off the ball.

Harry Maguire 7/10 – Overcame a rocky start to put in another solid display at the back for United.

Victor Lindelof 7/10 – Came into the team and played well alongside Maguire. He will need to keep this up given the injuries at the club.

Diogo Dalot 7/10 – Didn’t look particularly comfortable at left back but ended up with the all-important second goal.

Casemiro 7/10 – Back in the team after serving his suspension and helped to control the game alongside Eriksen and Fernandes.

Christian Eriksen 8/10 – Was a late inclusion to the starting eleven after Sabitzer got a knock in the warm-up but he was exceptional in midfield.

Bruno Fernandes 9/10 – Alongside Eriksen, Fernandes was at the heart of everything that United did this afternoon. If it wasn’t for Navas, he would have also had a couple of goals.

Antony 8/10 – Struggled in the first half but his goal seemed to breathe new life into him and he was superb in the second half.

Jadon Sancho 7/10 – Also took a little bit of time to get going but combined well with the Antony, Martial and Fernandes around the penalty box throughout the second half. Hopefully a performance that he can build on.

Anthony Martial 7/10 – United look a far slicker outfit with Martial up front and he played well again today. He was taken off early in anticipation of the big game on Thursday.

Substitutes

Wout Weghorst – 6/10 – Not a Manchester United player but worked hard.

Fred 6/10 – Came on too late to make an impact.

Nottingham Forest vs Manchester United Match Summary and Highlights

Going into the game, both sides were experiencing injury crises and United’s woes developed further when Marcel Sabitzer was ruled out of the starting lineup during the warm-up. Fortunately, Christian Eriksen was on hand to make his first start since returning from his own injury layoff and the Dane had a superb match in midfield alongside Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro.

After a dominant first half, the away side took the lead through Antony after the Brazilian picked up the rebound from an Anthony Martial shot that was well saved by Keylor Navas. And if the first half was dominant, then the second half was a masterclass from United. The midfield was purring and the forwards grew in confidence which left Forest hanging on for much of the half.

After a series of remarkable saves from Navas, Diogo Dalot put the Red Devils 2-0 up in the 75th minute after some excellent play from Antony. In reality, the scoreline flattered Forest who travel to Anfield next week in dire need of Premier League points.

Player Of The Match: Bruno Fernandes

Bruno Fernandes has had an excellent season for Manchester United, even if his goals and assists numbers aren’t at the astronomical levels they were when he first joined the club. In recent weeks, Ten Hag has asked him to play a deeper role due to injuries but today he was back in his favoured number ten position and he put on a show for the crowd at the City Ground.

With Fernandes in this form, United will believe that they still have a chance of adding more silverware to their trophy cabinet this season. However, they will have to navigate their Europa League quarter-final second leg against Sevilla on Thursday without their Portuguese maestro as he is set to miss out through suspension.

 

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