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Manchester United's winning run under Ruben Amorim came to a halt at Nottingham Forest, but at least Amad Diallo’s superb late volley was enough to earn a point at the City Ground.
It means that Amorim reaches his first anniversary as head coach with 10 points from the last four games, creating some much-needed momentum after a difficult start to the season.
Daily Mail Sport assesses some of the key issues from United’s 2-2 draw with Forest as Amorim embarks on his second year in charge at Old Trafford.
Diallo dilemma
It's hard to think of a player who has prospered more under Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 system as Diallo, the little Ivorian who had some memorable moments under Erik ten Hag but struggled to be a regular starter.
While wingers Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, Antony and Jadon Sancho have left United since Amorim was appointed a year ago, Diallo has successfully transitioned into one of the two No 10 roles in the Portuguese coach’s system.
The 23-year-old has also re-invented himself as a wing-back, which is where he is more likely to play after United signed Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha last summer.
Manchester United's winning run came to an end, despite Amad Diallo rescuing a late point
The Ivorian showed excellent technique to draw his side level late on with a superb volley
Ruben Amorim has a dilemma when it comes to Diallo - he operates best in attacking positions
It was from that position that Diallo ran from inside his own half to set up Rashford for the first goal of Amorim’s reign at Ipswich a year ago, and from where he popped up to score a fantastic late equaliser at Forest.
It came at the end of one of his less impressive games for United, which highlighted both the strengths and weaknesses of utilising an attacking player in defence. As well as Diallo gets forward and links up with Mbeumo down United’s right-hand side, he is not a natural defender like, say, Diogo Dalot, Noussair Mazraoui and Patrick Dorgu, and that is something opponents can exploit.
On this occasion, Callum Hudson-Odoi caused him problems and it cost United dear when Morgan Gibbs-White easily held off the 5ft 8in Diallo at the City Ground to head in from Ryan Yates’ cross.
‘I know Amad can do so much better,’ said Amorim. ‘But I know that Amad, one against one, is really dangerous. So sometimes we just expect that one guy that is not doing a great game can change the game for us. He managed to score, but again, we have potential to do so much better.’
United they stand
Amorim won’t be happy that United conceded twice in the space of 92 seconds after half-time to hand the initiative to Forest, but the way his team fought their way back into the game and scored an equaliser was of great consolation.
Indeed, it was the first time United had taken a point after falling behind since Rasmus Hojlund scored a late leveller at Bournemouth in March.
Amorim admitted afterwards that this was a game United would have lost last season. ‘In the past, if we had this kind of bad five minutes and we suffered two goals, we didn't recover,’ he said.
‘Today is a different feeling. You can sense that we could not win this game, but we are not going to lose – and that is a feeling that a big team sometimes has to have.’
Amorim feels United showed a different spirit after conceding two quick goals after the break
The team rallied together and responded well, almost winning the game in the dying moments
United are more robust now, both physically and mentally. The days when they would crumble when games turned against them seem to be in the past, and Saturday’s draw at Forest offered further evidence that they can absorb a painful setback and re-establish a foothold in the contest.
Anderson brings his A-game
If this was Elliot Anderson’s chance to show he can be the dominant midfield influence United are looking for, the Forest man took his opportunity with both hands.
A week after Carlos Baleba blew his audition when Brighton were beaten 4-2 at Old Trafford, Anderson was excellent as Forest ended United’s recent winning run.
The England international anchored the midfield superbly for Sean Dyche and got forward well, notably spreading play from left to right in the build-up to Gibbs-White equalising in the second half.
There will be a number of names in the frame when United sign a central midfielder next summer, but Anderson did his chances no harm at all here.
In the meantime, Casemiro continues to show he has plenty to offer. The Brazilian headed United in front with his second goal in as many games, and almost got another when he stabbed wide in the second half after Bruno Fernandes had rattled the post.
Dyche draws a line
Sean Dyche was furious that United scored from a corner after referee Darren England and his assistants decided that the ball had gone out despite Nicola Savona’s attempts to keep it in.
It was doubly painful for the new Forest boss because a similar scenario in his first Premier League game in charge at Bournemouth last weekend saw his team concede from a corner that should have been a goal kick.
Dyche was particularly upset that VAR wasn’t able to intervene and have a closer look to see if the full curvature of the ball had crossed the line amid suggestions the assistant referee had guessed that it had gone out.
Manchester United's opening goal at the City Ground came after Nicolo Savona was adjudged not to have kept the ball in play - with Casemiro scoring from the resulting corner
Sean Dyche was furious at the decision - particularly upset that VAR wasn’t able to intervene
'It's got to change,’ said Dyche. ‘You don't need three minutes to look at that, it's a very simple moment. I just can't understand it. You're the assistant referee, you're 70-odd yards away, you've got a goal and a net in the way but apparently you can see. Someone has got to be able to overrule these decisions, just really quickly, it will be five seconds.’
Dyche has a point given that the ball did indeed appear to be in play, and one of the biggest controversies of this kind in recent memory was decided by VAR.
When Japan scored their crucial second goal in a 2-1 win over Spain in the last World Cup, knocking Germany out of the competition, VAR intervened to rule that the ball hadn’t crossed the line and the goal should stand.
The Premier League needs to get its house in order to ensure this kind of problem doesn’t arise again.
