Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo hailed his side’s improvement as a key factor in their first win over Manchester United at Old Trafford in 30 years.
Defender Nikola Milenkovic headed home a corner after just 90 seconds as Forest won 3-2, leaving United manager and Espirito Santo compatriot Ruben Amorim in the lurch.
Morgan Gibbs-White and Chris Wood also scored as they etched their names into the history books as Forest’s all-time top scorer in the Premier League.
Hoylund equalized for United a quarter of an hour after Milenkovic’s opener and Bruno Fernandes, who was partly to blame for Gibbs-White’s strike, pulled one back for the hosts almost immediately after the restart.
Nikola Milenkovic scored his FIRST goal against 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) solidarity, belief, the desire to improve and the belief that we can go and compete with any team,” Espirito Santo told Sky Sports.
“The start of the game is very important. The way we start is a big detail and changes everything.
“We know that United are a big team and they wanted to respond. In the first half we were completely disorganized. The start of the second half was huge.
“So it makes a lot of sense. The way we try together makes sense as long as everyone believes in it. Even if you’re coming off the bench, you can play your part.”
On the importance of lethal situations, the Forest boss added: “We always try to be consistent in our parts. This is something that we have improved. Thank God it turned out right because we spend a lot of time on the training ground to let’s repeat.
“The only thing I think we should have done better was counter-attacking. We didn’t get too many.
“But the unity of the team was good.”
A birthday present for our record @PremierLeague scorer 🎁 pic.twitter.com/YjaLTPGozk
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) December 7, 2024
Gibbs-White also praised forward Wood and admitted he enjoyed playing with the 33-year-old.
“I love working with Woody. He’s an incredible hitter to work with,” Gibbs-White said.
“I only know where he will be and what he will do. He always takes the defenders out of the way. I chose him well, but, honestly, he did everything.
“I love playing with him in minutes.”
