Amad Diallo produced a stunning volley to grab a point for Man Utd at Nottingham Forest as their winning run was halted by a rollercoaster 2-2 draw.
With nine minutes to play and Forest looking comfortable, Amad cracked in a super left-foot strike when Nikola Milenkovic’s header fell to him on the edge of the box. He then thought he’d hit a 94th-minute winner only to be denied by a goalline block by Murillo, capping a game packed with drama.
United had led at half-time through a controversial Casemiro opener which sparked fury around the City Ground. The officials had awarded a corner when replays did not conclusively show all of the ball had crossed the line and the Brazilian subsequently headed in.
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Casemiro converted a controversially-awarded corner against Nottingham Forest. Savona was certain he kept the ball in play, but Darren England said corner.
“It’s not out,” said former Premier League referee Mike Dean on Soccer Saturday. “The ball is nowhere near out. It’s just a guess by the referee.”
Forest had conceded from a corner which should have been given as a goal-kick at Bournemouth last weekend.
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Sean Dyche was left very frustrated with VAR after Man United took the lead from a corner where the ball still appeared to be in play
Afterwards, Forest boss Sean Dyche called for a review of the rules, with VAR currently unable to intervene in those situations. “We talk about the margins in football, we talk about VAR,” he said. “Why’s it not brought in?
“Last week, really poor decision, cross goes in. This week, really poor decision, cross, goes in. Well get VAR on it then because it takes eight seconds to go ‘it’s in’ or ‘it’s out’.”
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Michael Dawson and Mike Dean react to Casemiro’s scores for Man United by it appears the ball did not go out when the corner was awarded
Forest were fuelled by the injustice on Saturday, with Morgan Gibbs-White brilliantly heading in an equaliser three minutes into the second half before Nicolo Savona – who had been the player judged unable to keep the ball in for the controversial corner – pounced to prod in Forest’s second.
Bruno Fernandes drilled a low shot against an upright as United sought to swing the contest again but Forest weren’t far off a third, with Igor Jesus heading wide from close range and Callum Hudson-Odoi blasting narrowly off target.
Amad’s firecracker left Forest ruing those misses and in the end they were indebted to Murillo’s quick reactions.
Nonetheless, United saw their winning streak ended at three games and missed the chance to go second in the Premier League table. They sit fifth. Sean Dyche, denied the first top-flight win of his reign, will have liked many elements of his side’s game but Forest remain 18th.
Dyche calls for VAR change after corner errors
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Sean Dyche calls for VAR change after another controversial corner call led to Casemiro’s opening goal for Man Utd against Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest boss Sean Dyche:
“It’s not conclusive. I’ve seen it back. Apparently today, the assistant referee can see 78 yards away. It’s got to change. That’s two in a week. Two decisions that are not right have gone against us in a week. Yes, of course, we then have to deal with the situation which we didn’t do as well. But it is tough when there’s a lot of noise about corners at this club and then they give corners that aren’t corners.
“We had one last week, one this week. It’s very tough on the team to take decisions like that. We talk about the margins in football, we talk about VAR, why it is not brought in? Last week, really poor decision, cross goes in. This week, really poor decision, cross, goes in. Well get VAR on it then because it takes eight seconds to go ‘it’s in’ or ‘it’s out’.”
Amorim: We lack energy away from home
Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim:
“I think we dropped the energy level. You can feel it when our team is not at the top of their energy and aggression. You can feel it. We managed to score again, we tried to win the game, we had a big opportunity in the end. We missed that little bit of luck. We need to work to bring the same away from home as we do in our stadium.
“We are getting better. Everyone can see. We are getting that feeling that if we can’t win, at least we aren’t going to lose. The way we press, the urgency with certain things, I think we did better last Sunday. We need to be like that in every game.”
On Amad’s equaliser: “It’s something good for the fans. It was a really important goal for us. But I’m more focused on the 90 minutes. And what we did good. That’s what I’ll tell the players. Sometimes I forget that part and I judge the players when I see the games. But, we are doing things right. We are controlling the game. Of course we can do so much to grow. But there are a lot of things we are doing right.
“The good thing is I can see so much more potential to do better things. If you combine those two things, we are progressing.”
