Manchester United fans’ furious reaction to Nottingham Forest loss highlights key Nuno Espirito Santo strength

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It was another famous City Ground evening as Nottingham Forest beat Manchester United, leading to furious responses from United fans.

To further emphasise Nuno Espirito Santo’s achievements this season, Forest completed a league double over Man United for the first time since the 1991/92 campaign under Brian Clough.

Ryan Yates hailed Anthony Elanga as his incredible solo goal secured the victory against his former side, predictably causing anger in the Red Devils fanbase knowing they missed out on this continued growth of Elanga.

Even United legend Rio Ferdinand was in awe of Elanga for his performance which must’ve riled up fans but there was one aspect of the Forest squad that annoyed Red Devils fans the most, so much so that they took to social media to vent.

Manchester United fans bemoan ‘unlucky’ Nottingham Forest defeat

When Forest beat United in December, they did it by scoring with their only three shots on target, a show of the efficiency that Espirito Santo has his side attacking.

However, United fans clearly took this as a sign that their team were unlucky in defeat and with a similar scenario playing out once again on Tuesday, they had to take to social media to vent their frustrations.

One fan said: “More possession, more shots, but little to show for it.”, while another added: “63.8% possession, 14 shots to their 8, 6 corners to 2, and yet we lose 1-0 to Forest.”

Another United fan said: “Again, the performance wasn’t bad. They had a GK who saved most of the shots,” whilst one added: “Dominating with 70% possession and firing off 24 shots without scoring a single goal.”

United fans continued to show their shock, with one saying: “If we had a component striker we win that by 3-4 goals,” and another adding: “Still, remarkable how United failed to find an equaliser. They finished with 24 shots, 68% possession and a 1-0 defeat.”

On paper, United fans may well be right to feel upset by the result but Forest supporters will know that Tuesday’s opponents played right into Espirito Santo’s hands.

Manchester United set up perfectly for Nuno Espirito Santo

30 games into the season now and you’d think that Espirito Santo’s tactics would’ve been adapted to by now but United were just another side to play perfectly into the Forest manager’s style.

Possession isn’t something that Forest have valued all season so the pressure was always going to be on United to dictate the game, something they struggled with.

Being wasteful with their shots, playing the ball into areas where Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic can comfortably clear it and giving cheap fouls away all contributed to the perfect opposition display for the Forest coaching staff to combat, knowing that they can rely on their efficient attack to capitalise.

Ruben Amorim suggested Elanga couldn’t handle the United pressure as an explanation as to why the Swede is now thriving at Forest, but Amorim may have to look within himself to understand that his side couldn’t handle the pressure of playing a side set up perfectly to scupper them.