Nottingham Forest 0-2 Manchester United: Antony scores to send Red Devils up to third

Antony scored one and assisted another as Manchester United moved up to third in the Premier League table with a clinical win over Nottingham Forest who missed out on a chance to move out of the relegation zone.

And Antony played through Diogo Dalot who slotted in United's second with 14 minutes remaining.

The win puts United three points clear of fourth-placed Newcastle United and six points ahead of Tottenham Hotspur in fifth, who have played a game more than the Red Devils.

Forest, who could have gone three points clear of the drop with a win, stay 17th, inside the bottom three on goal difference.

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Eriksen inspires free-flowing United

Antony starred, but it was Christian Eriksen who was the true lynchpin for United.

The Denmark midfielder started his first match since picking up an ankle injury in January, replacing Marcel Sabitzer who sustained a groin injury in the warm-up.

And alongside Bruno Fernandes, Eriksen helped United dominate the first half with Jadon Sancho and Fernandes having early chances.

After Antony's opener only an inspired performance from Navas and some wasteful finishing kept Forest in the fixture.

Fernandes saw his free header sail just wide on the strike of half-time and the Portuguese midfielder had a curling effort tipped on to the post by Navas after the restart.

United's win, settled by Dalot's first Premier League goal, was the perfect response to their disappointing 2-2 draw at home to Sevilla last time out.

They face Sevilla in the second leg of that Europa League quarter-final on Thursday before taking on Brighton in the semi-finals of the FA Cup on Sunday.

Forest sliding towards relegation

Forest are now winless across their past 10 Premier League matches.

They were 13th after their last victory when they beat Leeds United 1-0 on 5 February.

They had chances in the first half with Taiwo Awoniyi seeing one effort blocked by Aaron Wan-Bissaka and another fly off target from a strong position.

Forest also had a penalty shout in the 19th minute when an in-swinging corner struck the arm of United defender Harry Maguire, but the video assistant referee chose not to overturn referee Simon Hooper's non-penalty decision.

With United 1-0 in front, Felipe headed over from a corner in the 73rd minute, but in truth Forest always looked second best in front of their home supporters.

They face Liverpool in their next match on Saturday where they will be desperately hoping to end their winless run.

Player of the match

EriksenChristian Eriksen

with an average of 7.64

• Nottm ForestNottingham ForestNottingham Forest
• Man UtdManchester UnitedManchester United

Nottingham Forest

Avg

1. Squad number12Player nameNavas

   Average rating

   7.46
2. Squad number38Player nameFelipe

   Average rating

   5.56
3. Squad number7Player nameN Williams

   Average rating

   5.27
4. Squad number20Player nameJohnson

   Average rating

   5.25
5. Squad number19Player nameNiakhaté

   Average rating

   5.25
6. Squad number26Player nameMcKenna

   Average rating

   5.05
7. Squad number32Player nameRenan Lodi

   Average rating

   5.05
8. Squad number10Player nameGibbs-White

   Average rating

   4.92
9. Squad number28Player nameDanilo

   Average rating

   4.88
10. Squad number9Player nameAwoniyi

    Average rating

    4.75
11. Squad number23Player nameFreuler

    Average rating

    4.43
12. Squad number5Player nameMangala

    Average rating

    4.35
13. Squad number16Player nameSurridge

    Average rating

    4.25
14. Squad number25Player nameDennis

    Average rating

    4.09
15. Squad number11Player nameLingard

    Average rating

    4.02

Manchester United

Avg

1. Squad number14Player nameEriksen

   Average rating

   7.64
2. Squad number29Player nameWan-Bissaka

   Average rating

   7.23
3. Squad number20Player nameDiogo Dalot

   Average rating

   7.12
4. Squad number18Player nameCasemiro

   Average rating

   7.11
5. Squad number8Player nameBruno Fernandes

   Average rating

   6.94
6. Squad number21Player nameAntony

   Average rating

   6.91
7. Squad number1Player namede Gea

   Average rating

   6.76
8. Squad number9Player nameMartial

   Average rating

   6.74
9. Squad number25Player nameSancho

   Average rating

   6.71
10. Squad number2Player nameLindelöf

    Average rating

    6.71
11. Squad number17Player nameFred

    Average rating

    6.26
12. Squad number5Player nameMaguire

    Average rating

    5.89
13. Squad number27Player nameWeghorst

    Average rating

    5.61