What a comeback for Manchester United! Down 2-0 well into the second half against visiting Aston Villa, Alejandro Garnacho notched the first two goals to make it level, waking up the crowd at Old Trafford. That crowd included Sir Dave Brailsford, who will now be tasked by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS in leading the MUFC player roster overhaul. Old Trafford truly became the theatre of dreams for Rasmus Hojlund, who finally scored, for the first time in 1,026 Premier League minutes, to clinch the victory.
This was his first goal in both the league and in a victory, while playing for United.
Manchester United at Nottingham Forest FYIs
Kickoff: Sat. Dec. 30, 5:30 pm City Ground
United Preview Content: Early Team News Team News Starting XI Prediction
Five Great Christmas Moments in MUFC History: go here
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Premier League Position: Man United 6th, 31 pts, Nottingham Forest 16th, 17 pts
Premier League Form Guide: Man United WLDLW Nottingham Forest WLLDL
Google Result Probability: Man United 41% Draw 26% Nottingham Forest 33%
“He will score more,” said United manager Erik Ten Hag. “When strikers don’t score it is always a problem but he has a strong character, he has a big personality and that is what a striker needs, and when you keep investing the goals will come.”
These two youngsters led the way, as United pulled off a miraculous comeback, and thus avoided losing at home on Boxing Day, for the first time since 1978.
I said at half-time, ‘Keep believing and we will win,'” said Ten Hag. “Already in the first half we played solid. It was a bit sloppy to give two goals away from set plays.”
I could not agree more with the sentiment expressed in the tweet below, by a former sports media professional.
Rasmus Hojlund, Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, Bruno Fernandes. The four names that must be the front four for Manchester United moving forward. The difference with Bruno in the 10 rather than the deeper role is night & day.#MUFC | #MUNAVL
— Adam (@AdamJoseph____) December 26, 2023
He’s spot on! Pencil these four guys in up top, for every match, the rest of the way. Here is who we think the other seven should be.
Man United Starting XI Prediction at Nottingham Forest
Andre Onana; Diogo Dalot, Raphael Varane, Jonny Evans, Aaron Wan-Bissaka; Scott McTominay, Christian Eriksen; Anthony Garnacho, Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford; Rasmus Hojlund
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now, while writing for the International Baseball Writers Association of America. You can follow the website on Twitter.