United View: A point gained or two points lost?

While Manchester United may feel they should have taken all three points from Saturday’s trip to the City Ground, Ruben Amorim chose to take the positives from the 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest. 

Speaking in his post-match press conference, the 40-year-old admitted he thought his side would have lost the match last season. 

“We lost control of the game for five minutes and we paid a price,” said the Portuguese. 

“In the past, if we had this kind of bad five minutes and we suffered two goals, we didn’t recover. 

“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.” 

The Reds were fully in control in the East Midlands, thanks to Casemiro’s controversial opener, but two minutes of madness after the break saw the game turn on its head. 

Morgan Gibbs-White headed Forest level three minutes after the restart before Nicolo Savona turned in a second just two minutes later to leave the travelling supporters shellshocked. 

There was a response from Amorim’s side though, who drew level nine minutes from time thanks to Amad’s sumptuous volley, and the Ivorian was inches away from winning it late on, as his effort was cleared off the line superbly by Murillo. 

The winger, who has been operating as a right wing-back for large parts of this season, epitomises the risk and reward of Amorim’s system. 

While utilising a player of his attacking quality in that role has its benefits, as displayed with the equaliser, it also has drawbacks. 

Forest’s equaliser also highlights a potential flaw in Amad’s game, with the 23-year-old failing to deal with a cross towards the back post, being beaten to the ball by Gibbs-White. 

Overall though, I do believe the pros outweigh the cons, and I think Amad could be our secret weapon going forward. 

Whilst it has taken a few weeks for the pair to gel, his linkup with Bryan Mbeumo seems to be starting to flourish, and this could prove to be a nightmare for opposition defences. 

One man who stood out massively on Saturday was Forest midfielder Elliott Anderson, who did his stock no harm with a superb all-round performance. 

The 22-year-old – who joined from Newcastle United in 2024 – has already been linked with a big money move to Manchester United, and it’s easy to see why. 

Forest are reportedly holding out for an eyewatering £100m for the England international, but should United be able to drive this price down slightly, I think he could prove to be a smart acquisition. 

The midfielder has already established himself in Thomas Tuchel’s England setup, and would revolutionise Amorim’s options in the middle of the park. 

Anderson has all the attributes required to be a top-level midfielder, and with the current trend of midfielders constantly being categorised as attacking or defensive, it is refreshing to see a player who excels at both sides of the game. 

But his arrival is a question for further down the line, with United’s attention now turning to Saturday’s trip to Tottenham Hotspur. 

Ruben Amorim and his side will be hoping to capitalise on the wave of toxicity currently looming over Spurs, who were booed off the pitch after losing to bitter rivals Chelsea at the weekend. 

Should United get a result in North London, they will extend their unbeaten run to five matches, and go into the November international break on a high, something which looked nigh-on impossible just a matter of weeks ago. 

A win would also be United’s first at the new stadium since 2021, when goals from Edinson Cavani, Marcus Rashford and a certain Cristiano Ronaldo were the difference.