Manchester United defeated Nottingham Forest 3-0 to move one point behind fourth-place Tottenham in the Premier League. Marcus Rashford scored one goal and assisted on another.
A sickness hampered United’s preparations, leaving Raphael Varane, who had just returned from World Cup duty with France, as their only fit center-back, forcing Erik ten Hag to employ left-back Luke Shaw alongside him.
Although Forest rarely put their improvised defense to the test, Rashford stole the show in United’s first Premier League match without Cristiano Ronaldo. He scored the game’s first goal off Christian Eriksen’s deft corner in the 19th minute and then set up Anthony Martial for the game’s second shortly after.
Prior to halftime, Ryan Yates of Forest had a goal disallowed for offside by video assistant review, but otherwise, United dominated and sealed the victory when Casemiro, who was outstanding, stole the ball high up the field and fed substitute Fred, who scored a decisive goal three minutes from time.
With the win, United resumes their Premier League season in the best way possible and closes the gap with Spurs in their pursuit of a top-four finish. Forest, however, is in 19th place and is one point from safety.