One of Rúben Amorim’s toughest decisions to make in December has just got a lot harder following one Manchester United star’s “excellent” display vs Nottingham Forest.
Casemiro and Amad were on target as Manchester United fought back to secure a 2-2 draw against Nottingham Forest in a tense encounter at The City Ground.
Both teams had early chances, but Forest looked the more composed side during the opening half-hour. Despite that, it was Casemiro who broke the deadlock from a corner that the home supporters felt should never have been awarded.
Forest pressed for an equaliser before half-time but went into the break behind. After the restart, Sean Dyche’s men came out strongly, with Morgan Gibbs-White heading in to level the score.
Less than a minute later, Nicolò Savona pounced from close range to put Forest ahead, leaving United on the back foot. As the game opened up, Amad produced a stunning first-time volley to bring Rúben Amorim’s side level again with ten minutes remaining.
He nearly snatched the winner late on, but Murillo’s brilliant goal-line clearance ensured the match ended all square.
Shaw was “excellent” vs Forest
With United conceding two goals in five minutes at the beginning of the second half, it is likely the defensive line will not get much credit for how they played. But this should not overshadow the good form that Luke Shaw has been showing in the last few weeks.
The 30-year-old was “excellent” once again against, particularly in the first half, with the player completing 61 of his 67 attempted passes.
He also made six defensive contributions, with two tackles, three blocks, and one clearance, while winning seven of his nine duels.
Shaw was also not dribbled past for the whole 90 minutes plus injury time, having 79 touches and making six passes into the final third.
Amorim’s Shaw decision just got harder
Amid Shaw’s good displays, Lisandro Martínez has returned to first-team training following a spell of almost nine months out after an ACL injury sustained back in February.
At the beginning of the season, it was accepted that Shaw was going to play at left centre-back while Martínez was injured, but many assumed that once he returned from injury, Shaw would then be relegated to the bench.
However, just like Casemiro, Shaw has been surprisingly integral to the squad in the last six weeks and is a big reason for their positive upturn in form, which has thrown Martínez’s return into doubt.
While it was already a tough decision on how much football Martínez should play once he returns to action, Shaw’s positive form and consistency have made reintegrating the 27-year-old back into the squad even harder.
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