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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.
The visitors deservedly went in front in the 32nd minute as Antony stabbed home after Forest keeper Keylor Navas had kept out Anthony Martial.
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.
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.
More to follow.
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Line-ups
Nottm Forest
Formation 3-4-1-2
- 12Navas
- 38Felipe
- 19Niakhaté
- 26McKennaSubstituted forDennisat 81′minutes
- 7N WilliamsBooked at 67mins
- 23FreulerSubstituted forMangalaat 65′minutesBooked at 83mins
- 28dos Santos de Oliveira
- 32Lodi
- 10Gibbs-WhiteSubstituted forLingardat 88′minutes
- 20Johnson
- 9AwoniyiSubstituted forSurridgeat 65′minutes
Substitutes
- 4Worrall
- 5Mangala
- 6Shelvey
- 11Lingard
- 13Hennessey
- 15Toffolo
- 16Surridge
- 25Dennis
- 34A Ayew
Man Utd
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1de Gea
- 29Wan-Bissaka
- 5MaguireBooked at 3mins
- 2Lindelöf
- 20Dalot
- 18Casemiro
- 14EriksenSubstituted forFredat 79′minutes
- 21Antony
- 8Bruno Fernandes
- 25Sancho
- 9MartialSubstituted forWeghorstat 72′minutesBooked at 90mins
Substitutes
- 17Fred
- 27Weghorst
- 28Pellistri
- 30Bishop
- 31Butland
- 33Williams
- 36Elanga
- 55Iqbal
- 63Jurado Gomez
- Referee:
- Simon Hooper
- Attendance:
- 29,435
Live Text
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Match ends, Nottingham Forest 0, Manchester United 2.
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Second Half ends, Nottingham Forest 0, Manchester United 2.
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Wout Weghorst (Manchester United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Foul by Wout Weghorst (Manchester United).
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Moussa Niakhaté (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Attempt blocked. Antony (Manchester United) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Diogo Dalot.
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Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Danilo.
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Hand ball by Wout Weghorst (Manchester United).
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Substitution, Nottingham Forest. Jesse Lingard replaces Morgan Gibbs-White.
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Hand ball by Sam Surridge (Nottingham Forest).
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Attempt missed. Jadon Sancho (Manchester United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Bruno Fernandes.
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Foul by Casemiro (Manchester United).
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Danilo (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Attempt missed. Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right from a direct free kick.
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Orel Mangala (Nottingham Forest) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Antony (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Foul by Orel Mangala (Nottingham Forest).
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Substitution, Nottingham Forest. Emmanuel Dennis replaces Scott McKenna.
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Jadon Sancho (Manchester United) wins a free kick on the left wing.
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Foul by Felipe (Nottingham Forest).
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