Man Utd v Nottingham Forest LIVE: Result and reaction

A historic victory for a catalytic Portuguese manager at Old Trafford. Just what Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the powerbrokers who headhunted Ruben Amorim imagined, but for one minor detail. The winner was the unfashionable figure of Nuno Espirito Santo, who has steered Nottingham Forest to heights few dared to think they could touch, not their glamorous newcomer. As for Amorim, his honeymoon period seems fleeting. The problems at Manchester United, it appears, could only be concealed for three matches.

Since then, Amorim has suffered back-to-back defeats. If losing at Arsenal had a logic, being beaten by Forest at Old Trafford was the sort of chastening setback that happened all too often in Erik ten Hag’s final 14 months in charge. Amorim’s United displayed familiar flaws and new shortcomings, contributing to their own downfall with individual errors, slow starts and set-piece failings. Much as in Ten Hag’s unravelling, United were too open, too liable to be counter-attacked and left the midfield too empty. Some of this was Ten Hag-style chaos.

Yet while the Dutchman’s team had a multitude of failings, defending dead-ball situations was not a marked weakness. Yet Nikola Milenkovic’s early opener was a third goal United conceded from corners in barely 40 minutes of football, following Arsenal’s double; when Jota Silva headed against the bar and Murillo shot wide after a free kick and a corner respectively, it underlined United have an issue. Meanwhile, Andre Onana had gone from problem to solution, from weak link last autumn to arguably United’s player of this season so far. Then came an unwelcome return to his awful start to his United career, an almost inexplicable blunder for Forest’s second goal. Factor in a similarly needless misjudgement by Lisandro Martinez for the third and United could trace defeat to themselves.

Ruben Amorim insists he gave a series of intense instructions to Mason Mount due to the unusual system at that stage of the game, when United fielded two strikers in pursuit of a point against Nottingham Forest.

“We didn’t work in this position with two strikers, so I wanted to give him a clear idea of what to do,” Amorim says when asked about Mount’s role.

“That position was different to being a natural midfielder.”

“Bruno was too tired,” Ruben Amorim has explained after the curious decision to remove the Portuguese after his fine goal to spark a comeback.

“I wanted Mason Mount to play that position, Josh to play inside with Rasmus, to have some combinations.

“Leny had to go off in that moment. Then we put Maguire for the set-pieces, to control better, Wood was winning all the first balls.

“We had to win the second ball and Harry in the game he won all the first balls. Sometimes if you want to attack it’s not just strikers.”

“It was a tough game, we started the two halves really bad, it’s bad in this context, to pass some calm to the players to do the game we should do. Not a lot of quality, heart, we tried. Not the best way, we suffered but tried to continue our game.

“After half-time, we tried, it’s really hard, they scored one with strikers inside the box, we couldn’t do it in the end. It’s a low block, we need more time to put in the positions, our first goal was a good combination, after the first goal we had a good moment, a lot of players creating chances. We suffered two goals and then went forward without a lot of thinking. We have to address that, but it’s a long journey.

“It’s not individual, it’s all the team, we suffered three goals in two games from set-pieces, we spent a lot of time there, but we have to do better. We have to do better in all of these matches.”

Gibbs-White: “The ambition is to always progress, get better game-by-game, you want to play at the highest level possible.

“Ticking off boxes, hopefully, it [qualifying for the Champions League] will come.”

Gibbs-White: “It was for me and Woody to stay more narrow and control their two midfielders and press with our wingers.

“That was the gameplan and it showed off.”

It’s a blow for United and back-to-back defeats for Ruben Amorim.

“It’s hard to put into words, we have to keep believing,” says Morgan Gibbs-White.

“We’re disappointed we conceded two goals, but we did well to see the game out and manage it.”

Rashford with a controlled volley on the edge of the area and it’s deflected just wide.

Then Martinez at the back post with an acrobatic left-footed volley that zips a few inches over the bar, CLOSE!

Amad’s volley is blocked and Forest are hanging on, the way the ball cannoned up there, too. It’s frantic stuff.

Aina and Elanga combining down the right for Forest, but United put the fire out and go again, not much coming back now and a long period of stoppage time, Nuno’s side will have to suffer here you’d think.