da roleta： Erik ten Hag's side fell to yet another dismal away defeat as their attack again struggled to create a spark at the City Ground

da bet vitoria： False dawns and Manchester United have been a match made in heaven throughout 2023, and in their final game of the calendar year, Erik ten Hag's side again showed that their Boxing Day heroics against Aston Villa were nothing but a mirage as they fell to a 2-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest.

With Rasmus Hojlund ruled out due to illness, United lacked any kind of attacking intent in the first half, though Forest too struggled to create anything of note themselves. The home side did, however, break the deadlock after the break as Nico Dominguez swept home after a good passing move.

Until then, United's closest effort had come when Diogo Dalot struck the post from 25 yards, but they were eventually gifted a route back into the game when Forest goalkeeper Matt Turner's poor clearance eventually fell for Marcus Rashford to fire home.

However, the Red Devils were caught out on the counter-attack soon after, as Morgan Gibbs-White secured a first home win for manager Nuno Espirito Santo, while Ten Hag's side have now lost nine of their first 20 games of the Premier League season.

GOAL rates United's players from the City Ground…

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Andre Onana (6/10):

Distribution was decent enough and came and dealt with a couple of crosses well. Had no chance for Dominguez's goal.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka (4/10):

Caught out of position defensively on a couple of occasions while not offering nearly enough in attack.

Raphael Varane (7/10):

Had a couple of shaky moments in either half but probably the best of a bad bunch for United on the day as he won plenty and carried the ball out well.

Jonny Evans (5/10):

Showed his experience once more, only to make a costly error in playing for offside in the build-up to Dominguez's strike.

Diogo Dalot (6/10):

Came as close to anyone in a United shirt to finding the net as he rattled the post from long-range. Didn't do much wrong in general, but was again booked for dissent.

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Christian Eriksen (5/10):

Pace of his passing seemed off despite picking the ball up in some promising positions. United need more from him to unlock stubborn defences.

Kobbie Mainoo (5/10):

Made a crucial block to deny Dominguez early on but struggled with the pace of the game and with his man-marking job on Gibbs-White. Replaced at half-time.

Bruno Fernandes (6/10):

Couldn't get in the game as much as he would have liked. Did show some nice touches, but not nearly enough of them to have a great impact on the game.

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Antony (3/10):

Recalled to replace the absent Hojlund but again made little to no impact before going off early in the second half. Too predictable and wasteful – how many more chances to prove himself will the Brazilian get?

Marcus Rashford (4/10):

Moved back into a central striker role and was anonymous for long periods. Didn't do enough with the ball when he got it, either, until he was gifted the equaliser, which he finished well.

Alejandro Garnacho (6/10):

Cut a frustrated figure down the left-hand side as United generally attacked down the other flank. Did cause some panic in the Forest defence, and eventually played a key role in Rashford's equaliser.

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Scott McTominay (4/10):

Brought on for Mainoo but offered little. Failed to track Gibbs-White's run forward for the Forest winner.

Amad Diallo (6/10):

Back from injury for his first appearance of the season and had some nice touches after replacing Antony.

Sergio Reguilon (N/A):

Thrown on in the 90th minute.

Erik ten Hag (4/10):

Hamstrung a little by Hojlund's absence but attacking unit again looked toothless. Taking Mainoo off for the ineffective McTominay at half-time was also a questionable decision, even if the teenager was struggling a little.