Premier League round-up: Manchester United come back from horror start to beat Forest

Manchester United 3 Nottingham Forest 2

Manchester United skipper Bruno Fernandes’ spot-kick secured a thrilling 3-2 comeback victory as Erik ten Hag’s men survived a scare against 10-man Nottingham Forest.

The Red Devils have stumbled into the new campaign, with a fortunate home win against Wolves followed by a disappointing drop-off in last weekend’s defeat at Tottenham.

Ten Hag accused some of his players of not doing their jobs in the capital and will have been furious by the meek start on Saturday that allowed Forest to race into a two-goal lead.

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Fernandes came under particular criticism after Spurs and led United’s turnaround, scoring the match-winning penalty shortly after drawing the foul that saw Joe Worrall sent off.

It was quite the response to a historically bad start. In-form Taiwo Awoniyi brilliantly put Forest ahead on the break with an 86th second goal swiftly followed by Willy Boly from a free-kick.

Never before had United trailed by two goals inside four minutes of a Premier League match, but they rallied as Christian Eriksen pulled one back from a Marcus Rashford cross.

Casemiro wasted a glorious chance to level but made amends shortly after half-time when turning home at the end of a clever free-kick routine.

Worrall’s dismissal for denying Fernandes a goalscoring opportunity gave United extra pep in their step, with the skipper soon scoring from the winner from the spot after Danilo was adjudged to have brought down Rashford.

This was United’s first match since it was agreed that Mason Greenwood will leave Old Trafford, where injuries meant Mason Mount and Luke Shaw were in the directors’ box.

They were among three changes against a Forest side who flew out of the block and launched a blistering counter-attack.

From a corner that followed an early Antony shot, Steve Cooper’s men cleared and Morgan Gibbs-White headed on. Awoniyi showed more hunger and strength than Rashford to win the ball inside his own half, roaring forwards and keeping his cool under pressure as he got close to goal, sitting down Andre Onana before prodding past him.

It was a fantastic Forest start that got even better in the fourth minute. Gibbs-White sent in a free-kick from the right and seemingly unsighted Boly turned home with a headed attempt that beat Onana and stunned Old Trafford.

“You’re getting sacked in the morning” chanted the Forest fans as the Old Trafford faithful called for their owners to sell up.

United looked punch drunk but eventually regained a modicum of composure, reducing the deficit in the 17th minute.

Fernandes’ long-ranger was stopped and Rashford eventually burst down the left past Serge Aurier and into space before driving across for Eriksen to flick home.

United pushed for a quick-fire leveller and Casemiro somehow failed to level in the 26th minute. A corner came in from the right and bounced up for the midfielder, who inexplicably headed wide of an open goal from six yards.

The hosts continued to push but there were chances at the other end.

Gibbs-White was looking lively in front of England boss Gareth Southgate and saw a fizzing stoppage-time effort on goal inadvertently blocked by Awoniyi.

United started the second half far better than the first and equalised in the 52nd minute from a clever free-kick routine.

Forest were caught napping when Fernandes played over to Rashford, whose clipped cross was glanced back across goal by the Portuguese for Casemiro to score.

Old Trafford erupted and it was so nearly immediately 3-2, with Antony cutting on to his favoured left foot and whipping a beautiful strike that Matt Turner did well to stop.

Fernandes sent the Brazilian’s cutback just across the face of goal as United pushed for a winner and was never far away from the action.

The skipper drew a foul from counterpart Worrall in the 67th minute and referee Stuart Attwell brandished a red card having adjudged to him have denied a goalscoring opportunity.

The VAR ratified the decision, just as he did when Danilo caught Rashford in the box.

Fernandes stepped up to lash home low past Turner in the 76th minute as “Bruno, Bruno,” echoed around a rocking Old Trafford.

Forest were now a man and a goal down, but they continued to push. Onana acrobatically denied Boly but United shut up shop, with players leaving to cheers and anti-Glazer chants.

Arsenal 2 Fulham 2

Joao Palhinha struck in the 87th minute to earn a shock 2-2 draw for Fulham at Arsenal.

The hosts looked to have completed a stunning turnaround when substitute Eddie Nketiah fired past Bernd Leno to give them the lead 18 minutes from time, moments after Bukayo Saka’s penalty had made it 1-1 and relieved the tension in north London.

Saka gifted the opening goal to Andreas Pereira after 57 seconds as Arsenal’s habit of letting in early goals at home returned to haunt them.

Calvin Bassey saw red for Fulham late on for fouling Nketiah, but Palhinha left home fans stunned for a second time when he struck from a corner as Arsenal’s winning start in the Premier League came to an end.

Some were yet to take their seats inside the Emirates when Pereira pounced on a reckless blind ball from Saka to give Fulham the lead.

There seemed to be no danger when Declan Rice laid the ball to his England team-mate wide on the halfway line, but in a startling lapse of concentration Saka played a backwards pass into the path of the onrushing Pereira, who with under a minute on the clock dinked it beyond Aaron Ramsdale to stun the hosts.

It was the third time in 2023 that Arsenal had conceded in the first minute of a home game and, as though familiar with the routine, they responded with appropriate urgency.

First, Kai Havertz spurned a glorious chance to level with a close-range header from Saka’s clever back-post flick, then Gabriel Martinelli danced inside Kenny Tete to make room for a low drive that was gathered by Leno.

Martinelli looked Arsenal’s best hope of a quick fix to their predicament. Raul Jimenez was next to deny the Brazilian when he flew into a point-blank interception as the Brazilian shaped to shoot from six yards.

Fulham may have been surprised by Arsenal’s early gift but they were not content to rest on their good fortune. Jimenez worried Ramsdale with an ambitious scissor kick that dropped a foot wide of the post and Harry Wilson threatened with a wicked driven effort that flew across goal.

It looked increasingly like a second goal for Marco Silva’s side would be required. Martinelli went close again for the hosts after he was slipped in to a channel down the left by Leandro Trossard, this time the fingertips of Leno dropping low to his right squeezed it around the post.

Saka badly miscued a header which spun up and over the bar from six yards.

Then, as the frustration rumbling around the Emirates intensified, a second-half lifeline came.

Martinelli slipped a clever ball in behind for substitute Fabio Vieira and, as he darted inside the box, Tete was tempted into going to ground in what proved a fatal error. After a lengthy VAR delay, Saka exorcised his first-half demons and fired Arsenal level from the spot.

It took under three minutes to complete a whirlwind fightback. Vieira, fresh from his smart run to win the penalty, found himself with space to dash into down the left. He looked up to see the charging figure of his fellow substitute Nketiah, who timed his arrival to perfection to steer the low cross beyond Leno.

Fulham’s hopes seemed to drain away when Bassey was red carded with seven minutes to go, a second booking for hauling down Nketiah near the halfway line, and Arsenal could have been forgiven for thinking the job was done.

But within minutes Fulham had rescued a point. Harrison Reed’s corner was well delivered and there meeting it on the half volley was Palhinha to scoop his foot skilfully around the ball into the bottom corner.

Vieira had a final go at cementing his rapidly growing reputation with a strike deep in added time that Leno tipped over. It was not to be this time for the substitute, nor was it for Arsenal.

Everton 0 Wolves 1

Wolves substitute Sasa Kalajdzic scored a late winner two minutes after coming off the bench as Everton manager Sean Dyche’s decision to turn to some new faces produced a depressingly-familiar outcome.

The Toffees dominated this Premier League match – having 15 shots – but remain goalless and pointless in the 270 minutes they have played so far this season as the visitors scored with their only effort on target in the 87th minute.

Fans streaming out of Goodison had seen it all before as recently as a fortnight ago when a similar performance against Fulham also saw them lose 1-0 as they endured their worst start to a season since 1990-91.

But the supporters in old gold did not care as they headed back down the M6 celebrating their first win of the campaign – secured by a player making only his third appearance after rupturing his ACL in his first match last season – and their third in succession at Goodison Park for the first time.

Brighton 1 West Ham 3

James Ward-Prowse netted his first goal for West Ham United and Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio added second-half strikes as they notched a thumping 3-1 Premier League win over Brighton & Hove Albion to climb to the top of the standings on Saturday.

Brighton, who topped the table after two 4-1 wins in their opening two games, dominated possession but Antonio teed up Ward-Prowse to open the scoring in the 19th minute, his first goal since arriving from Southampton in August.

Bowen added the second in the 58th minute, controlling a brilliant cross-field pass from Said Benrahma before swiftly tucking the ball home at the foot of the far post, and Antonio rifled home a low drive to make it 3-0 five minutes later.

Pascal Gross drilled a low shot into the far corner to make it 3-1 in the 81st minute but it was too little, too late as the Hammers held on to record their first Premier League win over the Seagulls at the 13th attempt.

Brentford 1 Crystal Palace 1

Joachim Andersen’s equaliser secured Crystal Palace a 1-1 draw against unbeaten Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium.

A first-half stunner from Kevin Schade gave the Bees an early lead before Andersen levelled in the 76th minute.

After a dominant 3-0 win away at Fulham last week, Thomas Frank’s men failed to put the game to bed which allowed the Eagles to claim a point in west London.

After a quiet start from both sides, Palace burst into life through the creative Eberechi Eze. The midfielder, recently linked with a move to Manchester City, hustled to win back the ball before feeding the marauding Odsonne Edouard who was dispossessed before testing Mark Flekken.

But it was the Bees who struck first in the 18th minute.

Schade picked up the ball on the left-hand side before driving at the Palace backline and producing a spectacular curled strike into Sam Johnstone’s top-left corner, recording his first goal for the club.

Not long after, the heavens opened and the greasy surface favoured the elegant Mathias Jansen who sprayed the ball into attacking areas before a 38th-minute header from Yoane Wissa sailed over the bar.

Palace had looked flat all game and it was clear their only hope was through the dangerous Eze, who after 54 minutes slalomed his way through a wall of home defenders before being denied a penalty by referee Peter Bankes when he was brought down.

Soon after Edouard’s dipping free-kick tested Flekken, who was forced to make a stretched save to deny the striker.

And the Dutch keeper’s heroics continued in the following sequence when he denied Jefferson Lerma’s header from close range before Brentford scrambled to block Jordan Ayew’s rebound.

Palace’s persistence was rewarded 14 minutes from time.

Andersen played a one-two with Ayew before driving into the box where he beat Flekken to the ball with his sliding effort.

Brentford searched for a winner during five minutes added time but the Bees struggled to find the final pass.