Nottingham Forest 2-2 Man United: Amad Diallo's stunning volley rescues point for Ruben Amorim's side after Red Devils conceded twice in 92 seconds after half time
Ruben Amorim's first year as Manchester United head coach ended as it began, with a point away from home and a standout moment from Amad Diallo.
Last November, Diallo set up the first goal of Amorim’s reign for Marcus Rashford inside two minutes against Ipswich with a barnstorming run at Portman Road.
The little Ivorian’s switch from winger to wing-back has been one of the success stories of Amorim’s time in charge. Even though this wasn’t one of his finest games, he went one better here at the City Ground with a stunning late equaliser.
Amorim’s side had already gone ahead from one corner when Bryan Mbeumo swung over another from the right in the 81st minute.
Casemiro, the scorer of the first goal, couldn’t get enough on his header this time and Nikola Milenkovic cleared to the edge of the box. The ball dropped for Diallo who met it with the sweetest of left-foot strikes that dipped beyond Matz Sels.
‘I don't know if it’s goal of the season,’ said Diallo, who knew he was partly at fault when Morgan Gibbs-White headed the first of two Forest goals in the space of 92 seconds early in the second half.
Amad Diallo rescued a draw for Man United with a superb strike against Nottingham Forest
The Red Devils star used remarkable technique to thunder an effort in from outside the area
‘We are really disappointed to go home with one point. We have confidence now and we are trying to do our best. We believe in the manager like he believes in us.’
So no fourth win in a row for Amorim and that curious chap with the long hair, but at least it keeps the momentum going into his second year and silences any talk of bubbles bursting.
Forest may be struggling this season, but they had won their last three Premier League games against United, so a point at the City Ground on the back of successive wins over Sunderland, Liverpool and Brighton isn’t too shabby at all.
Most importantly, United showed once again that they are a different proposition these days, both physically and mentally. They respond better to adversity. This, Amorim acknowledged, was a game they would have lost last season.
‘In the past, if we had this kind of bad five minutes and we suffered two goals, we didn't recover,’ he said.
‘Today is a different feeling. You can sense that we could not win this game, but we are not going to lose – and that is a feeling that a big team sometimes has to have.’
Sean Dyche was less satisfied as he was denied his first Premier League win – and Forest’s first since the opening day of the season – after clawing their way back into the game.
Having conceded from a corner that should have been a goal kick in his first league game at Bournemouth last weekend, Dyche was furious that it happened again.
Ruben Amorim’s first year as United boss started as it began, with a point away from home
Casemiro opened the scoring for Manchester United in the first half with his third of the season
Morgan Gibbs-White struck early in the second half, putting Nottingham Forest on level terms
Nicola Savona headed clear at the far post in the 34th minute and then chased the ball out towards the corner. Did it roll over the line? It’s hard to tell these days when we have to take the curvature of the ball into account and the margins are miniscule, but the initial replays suggested it wasn’t – even after the Italian defender miscontrolled at the first attempt.
Referee Darren England and his officials saw it differently, however, and awarded United a corner. From that moment, it always felt as though Forest might pay the price. Bruno Fernandes delivered from the left and Casemiro rose behind substitute Ryan Yates to plant a header into the bottom corner for his second goal in as many games.
‘It's not inconclusive, I've seen it back,’ said Dyche. ‘That's two decisions that are not right that have gone against us. They give corners that aren't corners. They gave one last week and one this week. It's a really poor decision.
‘That decides a lot. We are fighting for our lives to get up the table.’
To their credit, Forest fought back. Gibbs-White scored the first, getting in front of Diallo to steer a header inside the far post from Yates’ cross.
Then Igor Jesus jumped with Matthijs de Ligt to challenge for Dan Ndoye’s deflected cross, and as the ball dropped on the edge of the six-yard box, Savona reacted quicker than Diogo Dalot to touch the ball away from the Portugal defender and beat Senne Lammens from close range.
Fernandes hit the post and Diallo almost snatched a dramatic winner in the third minute of added time, but his effort was cleared off the line by Murillo.
