Third defeat from the last five Premier League games: Manchester United also lost against Nottingham on Saturday (December 30, 2023). City rivals Manchester City, on the other hand, crowned a successful year.
Manchester United lost 1:2 (0:0) to relegation candidate Nottingham Forest, the interim equalizer by Marcus Rashford in the 78th minute was not enough. This doesn’t make the situation any easier for United coach Erik ten Hag. There had been discussions about his future even before the ninth defeat in the 20th league game.
Two goals from Nicolás Domínguez (64′) and Morgan Gibbs-White (82′) were enough for Nottingham to win because United’s Diego Dalot hit the post from 18 meters in the 55th minute.
Manchester City wins without any problems
Without star striker Erling Haaland, who is still injured in his foot, the defending champions defeated newly promoted Sheffield United 2-0 (1-0) and, after a minor crisis, are third in the table, two points behind leaders FC Liverpool.
On Sunday (3 p.m.) Arsenal FC could climb to first place with a win at Fulham FC. Liverpool play against Newcastle United on New Year’s Day (9 p.m.).
Alvarez takes care of that Preliminary decision
Before kick-off, Manchester City presented the five trophies won this year. Pep Guardiola’s team then dominated bottom-placed Sheffield. Spain’s midfield strategist Rodri gave Manchester the lead after just under a quarter of an hour. The champions had almost 82 percent possession of the ball, but missed the second goal for a long time. World champion Julian Alvarez made up for this after an hour and made the final score 2-0 after three home draws in a row.
Kevin De Bruyne was back in the City squad for the first time since mid-August. The Belgian was out for over four months with a thigh injury, but did not play against Sheffield.
Late winner for Aston Villa
Surprise team Aston Villa made it to second place late on. The team from Birmingham won against FC Burnley 3-2 (2-1) after goals from former Leverkusen professionals Leon Bailey (28th) and Moussa Diaby (42nd) as well as a penalty from Douglas Luis (89th).
Chelsea are making things exciting at Luton Town
Chelsea FC almost lost a 3-0 lead in a 3-2 (2-0) win at newly promoted Luton Town. After the goals from Cole Palmer (12th/70th) and Noni Madueke (37th), everything looked like a clear Chelsea success.
Luton Town’s Gabriel Osho in a duel with Chelsea’s Cole Palmer.
Ross Barkley (80th) and Elijah Adebayo (87th) brought the hosts closer. Despite good opportunities, the hosts were unable to equalize in stoppage time. Chelsea are still in midfield.