Anthony Elanga’s lightning-quick breakaway goal proved the difference at the City Ground as Nottingham Forest continued their march towards the Champions League by beating Manchester United 1-0.
Elanga’s early strike thrust Forest into a position of comfort off the back of Saturday’s 120-minute slog, but they required some heroic defending at the last to walk away with all three points.
Man Utd huffed and puffed for the duration without much reward, with their defeat leaving them 13th in the Premier League table. Third-place Forest, meanwhile, are now eight points clear of Chelsea and are starting to hear that iconic anthem in the distance.
Forest supporters started the contest with an ode to their first FA Cup semi-final berth since 1991, although the red-hot Bruno Fernandes came close to silencing a joyous home crowd in the opening stages.
The playmaker’s excellent first touch set up a presentable opportunity from distance, and his effort was parried behind by Matz Sels. From the resulting corner, the home side took the lead. United’s pouring of bodies forward left them vulnerable to the searing speed of Anthony Elanga, who carried the ball 85 metres in a little over nine seconds while evading challenges from Patrick Dorgu and Alejandro Garnacho, before finishing superbly on the edge of his former club’s box with his left foot.
This is the game state Forest have thrived in this season, but United responded pretty well to falling behind. Their work in possession was slick for the most part, and Forest, for the remainder of the first half, only teased their destructive ability on the counter. The closest we came to a second goal in the opening period originated from the head of Diogo Dalot, who looped an effort onto the crossbar.
Nikola Milenkovic then denied Garnacho from bearing down on Sels’ goal in first half stoppage time.
A shape change from Nuno Espirito Santo helped Forest, who started the second period the brighter. Andre Onana was drawn into a fine save from a Ryan Yates header, while Morgan Gibbs-White blazed over from a good position in the United box.
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