Manchester United 3-0 Nottingham Forest: Erik ten Hag has handed out compliments after Manchester United’s big victory over Nottingham Forest. The manager highlighted Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw, among others, and also briefly touched on his club’s transfer plans.
Goals from Rashford, Anthony Martial and Fred saw United win big against Forest . However, the score could have been much wider. For example, Martial and Antony missed great opportunities after the break. “We could certainly have scored more often,” Ten Hag said at the BBC. “If you come face to face with the keeper a few times, you should score more often. But we kept the zero again. I’m happy with that, because that’s the basis.”
The zero was kept without Lisandro Martínez. The brand new world champion is still getting some rest and this time he was replaced in the left center of the defense by Luke Shaw. The English wing defender had come up with that idea himself, Ten Hag said: “He told me last week that he can play there and asked me to position him there. He did very well and looked experienced and calm in that place. A very good performance from him.”
The fantastic front four
The big eye-catcher at United was Rashford on Tuesday evening. The 25-year-old attacker was constantly threatening and scored beautifully from a rehearsed corner variant. It was already the fifth time in a row that the international from Manchester scored in a United home game. Rashford already scored ten times for his club in his first season under Ten Hag, while he only scored five goals in the entire previous season. “Once again I am very happy with his performance. He’s on a very good run. If he keeps this up, with this spirit, it will be very good for him and for us,” said the manager.
Ten Hag opted for a vanguard against Forest with Antony, Martial and Rashford, followed by Bruno Fernandes as number ten. The combination play between the four occasionally led to standing ovations at Old Trafford. Ten Hag was satisfied, but emphasized that he would like an extra option in the front now that Cristiano Ronaldo has left. “We want to get players, but the front four haven’t played together much this season. If we get them together more often, then I’m sure it will only get better, with more stability and more goals,” the Dutchman wraps up.
