Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo hailed his side’s set-piece improvement as a key factor in their first win over Manchester United at Old Trafford in 30 years.
Defender Nikola Milenkovic found the net from a corner after just 90 seconds as Forest went on to win 3-2 and inflict a second defeat on United boss and Espirito Santo’s compatriot, Ruben Amorim.
Morgan Gibbs-White and Chris Wood also scored, with the latter etching his name into the history books by becoming Forest’s all-time leading goalscorer in the Premier League.
Hojlund had levelled for United a quarter of an hour after Milenkovic’s opener, and Bruno Fernandes – who was partly at fault for Gibbs-White’s strike almost immediately after the restart – pulled one back for the hosts.
Nikola Milenkovic nets his FIRST goal for Nottingham Forest! ⚽⚡ pic.twitter.com/Ni1AMQBydE
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 7, 2024
But Forest held on for a famous victory, much to the delight of their manager.
“[We showed] the togetherness, the belief, the desire to improve and the belief that we can go and compete against any team,” Espirito Santo told Sky Sports.
“The start of the game is very important. The way we start is a huge detail and it changes everything.
“We know United are a great team and they were going to react. In the first-half we were not totally organised. The beginning of the second-half was huge.
“So it means a lot. The road that we are trying to do together makes sense as long as everybody believes. Even if you come from the bench you can play your part.”
About the importance of dead-ball situations, the Forest boss added: “We always try to be consistent in our set-pieces. That is something we have been improving on. Thank God it came out right because we spend a lot of time on the training ground trying to repeat.
“The only thing I think we should have done better was counter attack. We didn’t achieve too many.
“But the unity of the team was good.”
A birthday present for our record @PremierLeague goalscorer. 🎁 pic.twitter.com/YjaLTPGOzk
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) December 7, 2024
Gibbs-White also praised forward Wood, and admitted he is relishing playing with the 33-year-old.
“I love working with Woody [Wood]. He’s an incredible striker to work with,” said Gibbs-White.
“I just know exactly where he is going to be, what he’s going to do. He’s always peeling off defenders, coming in front. I picked him out nicely but, to be fair to him, he did all the work.
“I love playing with him at the minute.”
