What pleased Nuno most about 'special' Nottingham Forest moment as Alex Moreno absence explained
Bravery and unity were key to Nottingham Forest's historic 3-2 victory at Manchester United, according to Nuno Espirito Santo.
The Portuguese head coach praised the character of his players after they claimed three points at Old Trafford for the first time in 30 years. And having already enjoyed a win at Anfield earlier in the campaign, Saturday night’s result made it the first time the Reds have triumphed away to both Liverpool and United in the same season.
It was their second trip to Manchester in the space of a few days, having lost 3-0 to City on Wednesday night. But this time goals from Nikola Milenkovic, Morgan Gibbs-White and Chris Wood ensured Nuno's side came out on top.
Wood's header took him past Bryan Roy to become the club's leading Premier League scorer with 25 goals. And the result left Forest fifth in the table with 15 games gone. Below is a look at what Nuno had to say after the final whistle.
On what was the key to victory...
“It was important the way we started the game. We scored with the first action of the game, and that makes everything different.
"United reacted very well and started pushing really high. It took us too long to adjust in the first half, realising that we shouldn't allow through passes and needed to be a bit more compact.
“We adjusted better in the second half and the beginning was very good for us again. We recovered the ball very high and we scored, and then we scored again.
"We went in front again but we knew United would react, so then it is about unity and hard work. If you ask me what was the key, the togetherness and the hard work of the players was it. We’re really happy.”
On Wood's record breaking goal...
"And it is his birthday! He is 33 years old.
"We are very happy to have Chris with us. He is an example for the young lads to follow, because it is never too late to achieve good things in football. He is a good example to everybody and we are very happy to have him.
"All the players are important. The players who have come in are really helping and having an impact. It really doesn't matter who starts - as long as we believe that, the squad will be stronger."
On a brave performance...
"First of all, it was a big ask for us to come to Manchester twice in such a short period. It was demanding.
"Fresh legs helped. The players who came in with energy really impacted the game, which was good.
"I think we were brave. Especially at the beginning of the second half, it was really nice to see the belief of the players going forward and recovering the ball. It was good, and against a fantastic team.
"We know the quality of United's players and anything can happen - (Bruno) Fernandes showed that with a fantastic strike. We held on until the end as best we could."
On winning at Old Trafford for the first time in 30 years...
“It means a lot for us as a club. Forest is a huge club that hasn’t had special moments like this for a long time. We should celebrate and be proud of this.
“Me, I think about Villa. Let the fans celebrate, now we will start to prepare for the next one.
“But I’m very proud of being part of this group of players and the squad. We are trying to do something together and build something nice.”
On Alex Moreno's absence from the squad...
"He is not injured. He is totally fine.
"I will share with you the idea. He played a very hard game against City and went to his limits.
"We saw he was not in the right moment, so either you bring him and if something happens to your left-back you have to put him in but he is not totally ready. He cannot play against Villa, his parent club, so let's prepare Harry Toffolo in case something happens. I think it makes sense."
