Elanga winner pushes Forest closer to Champions League

Anthony Elanga joined Nottingham Forest from Manchester United in 2023

Nottingham Forest moved closer to realising their Champions League dream as Anthony Elanga's solo strike defeated his former club Manchester United.

The winger, who joined United as a 12-year-old, sprinted 70 yards before finishing into the bottom corner to catch the visitors cold with an early winner.

He joined Forest from United for £15m in 2023, in search of regular football, and continued his excellent season against his former club.

Murillo ensured the win with a dramatic goalline clearance from Harry Maguire in the final seconds.

Forest remain third in the Premier League with an eight-point lead over fourth-placed Chelsea, who host Tottenham on Thursday, and it is hard to see how Nuno Espirito Santo's side fail to secure Champions League football from here.

Into the FA Cup semi-finals - where they face Manchester City at Wembley this month - and on the brink of a first European campaign since 1996, Forest are almost in dreamland.

Efficient and effective, they completed a double over United for the first time since 1991-92 with a 13th clean sheet of the season and condemned the visitors to their 13th defeat of the campaign.

Ruben Amorim's side were neat and tidy in spells but there was little punch to their attack, as they were unable to break down their organised hosts, while they struggled to contain Elanga.

Diogo Dalot's first-half header bounced off the bar and Bruno Fernandes tested goalkeeper Matz Sels early on but they are still looking for successive Premier League wins this season.

United remain floundering in 13th before Sunday's derby with Manchester City and there was little suggestion at the City Ground their position will improve.

Another defensive masterclass from Forest

Forest were again back at their defensive best - the foundation of their success this season.

A 13th clean sheet of the campaign edges them ahead of Liverpool's 12 as they limited Manchester United until the last few seconds.

It was another robust and organised defensive display, with every cog in the machine knowing exactly what to do.

That included the upheaval of losing Ola Aina to injury, with Alex Moreno replacing him in a first-half defensive reshuffle.

It did not upset their rhythm and only served to prove their mental and physical resilience.

In January, Forest were humbled 5-0 at Bournemouth but responded with a 7-0 win over Brighton - and when they conceded four at Newcastle, they then kept back-to-back clean sheets against Arsenal and Manchester City.

On Tuesday, they kept United out - even if they needed Murillo's last-gasp goalline clearance to deny Maguire a leveller - to earn a fourth clean sheet in their past six games.

A mid-table performance from Man Utd

Manchester United did not perform badly and they weren't outclassed but they were still not good enough.

At times in the first half, they knocked the ball around effortlessly but they were fleeting moments, rather than the establishing of any consistent pressure on Nottingham Forest.

It was a performance which lacked a spark, urgency, potency in attack and steel at the back - exactly the reasons why they are 13th in the Premier League.

Yes, Dalot hit the bar and Forest did need Murillo to deny Maguire on the line at the death but it would have been a harsh on the hosts had they not won.

Still without successive wins in the Premier League this season, United host Manchester City in the derby on Sunday before the first leg of their Europa League quarter final against Lyon in France next Thursday.

Sitting 13th in the Premier League, their season remains alive in Europe and they can have a say on the European qualification battle at the top end of the table - although only because they play so many teams vying for the top six in their final eight games.