Manchester United signed off their season at Old Trafford in a positive, dramatic and occasionally emotional time with fans actually having something to celebrate despite the poor showing in the first 2/3 of the season and not having any European commitments in this campaign. A win that provided plenty of drama, securing 3rd spot after a poor start to the season, Bruno equalling the assist record and of course the send-offs and celebrations at full-time, it’s an exciting time to be a Manchester United fan once again.

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Teams

Manchester United: Lammens, Shaw, Martinez, Maguire, Dalot, Mainoo, Casemiro (Mount 81′), Cunha (Dorgu 80′), Fernandes, Amad, Mbeumo (Zirkzee 80′)

Subs: Bayindir, Heaven, Yoro, Mazraoui, Malacia, Ugarte

Nottingham Forest: Sels, Netz (Cunha 84′), Morato, Milenkovic, Williams, Gibbs-White, Dominguez (Bakwa 70′), Anderson, Hutchinson (Sangare 70′), Wood (Awoniyi 70′), Igor Jesus (McAtee 84′)

Subs: Victor, Ortega, Abbott, Yates

Manchester United 3-2 Nottingham Forest

Old Trafford signed off for the season in fittingly dramatic fashion as Manchester United edged past Nottingham Forest 3-2 in an entertaining Premier League contest on Sunday afternoon. Michael Carrick’s side secured third place with a performance full of attacking intent, while Bruno Fernandes capped another outstanding campaign by equalling the Premier League single-season assist record with his 20th of the year. Goals from Luke Shaw, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo proved enough in the end, although Forest pushed United all the way in a frantic finale.

United made the perfect start after just five minutes when Shaw opened the scoring with his first goal since January 2023. Forest failed to clear their lines from a half-cleared cross and the left-back reacted quickest, drilling a low effort into the bottom corner to send Old Trafford into celebration mode. The home side looked lively going forward, with Fernandes orchestrating attacks and Mbeumo causing constant problems down the right, but Forest remained dangerous on the counter and almost levelled through Nicolás Domínguez before the break. Despite United controlling much of the first half, the visitors stayed firmly in the contest thanks to some resilient defending and moments of quality from Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson.

The game exploded into life after half-time. Forest equalised in the 53rd minute when Anderson whipped in an excellent cross for Morato to head home, briefly silencing the Stretford End. United responded almost immediately, though, as Cunha restored the lead after a controversial VAR review. Mbeumo appeared to handle the ball in the build-up, but referee Michael Salisbury judged it accidental after consulting the pitchside monitor, allowing Cunha’s composed finish to stand. Forest were furious, yet United continued to press and eventually found breathing space in the 76th minute. Fernandes delivered a superb cross into the area and Mbeumo stabbed home from close range, a goal that not only proved decisive but also saw the Portuguese captain match the long-standing assist record previously shared by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne.

There was still time for more drama as Gibbs-White produced a brilliant improvised finish to reduce the deficit and set up a nervy closing spell. Forest threw bodies forward in search of an equaliser, while United continued to create chances at the other end, with Diogo Dalot striking the post and Joshua Zirkzee somehow denied late on. The emotional atmosphere around Old Trafford also centred on Casemiro, who received a standing ovation during what is expected to be his final home appearance for the club. By the final whistle, United had done enough to secure a thrilling victory and guarantee a third-place finish, giving supporters plenty of optimism heading into next season.

Talking Points

The first talking point from the game has to be the send offs, primarily focussed around Casemiro, but also as we found out at full-time the departure of Malacia whose time at United has been hampered by injury. During the first half of the game, Napoli secured Champions League qualification meaning United were also confirming the permanent departure of Rasmus Hojlund who has spent the year away in Italy. The send off for Casemiro is one that United fans are torn about, with arguably his best spell in a United shirt coming in 2026, the previous years of question marks on his fitness and ability to run the midfield for United are long-gone, and while it’s fitting to leave on a high, it leaves a huge hole for United to fill this summer in terms of leadership, control of games, chance creation and of course his aerial threat from set-pieces. It feels fitting to give a player like this his sign off, and showing that despite his successes at Real Madrid, he will always give and receive love from Manchester United fans.

Another reason to celebrate was the Premier League record-equalling assist from Bruno Fernandes as he teed up the winner for Bryan Mbeumo to secure the victory, and mark his 20th assist of the season. It became a real focus of the closing stages of the game, with United not pushing for the win necessarily, but actually for Bruno to reach this milestone. It’s arguably a game where Fernandes should have smashed the record by some margin, with Mbeumo and Zirkzee among the forwards who wasted big chances created by their captain. While Bruno Fernandes doesn’t have the silverware his career deserves, this season it feels like there is a real recognition for his contributions to the club and to the league as a whole. While United have been in a tough patch during his time at the club, he remains the shining light that will hopefully see United to the top once again.

Finally, as we said goodbye to players and Old Trafford, we were expecting an announcement at full-time surrounding Michael Carrick, with hints that his post-match speech to the crowd could give us the announcement we all expect on his future. However, in his usual reserved manner he gave nothing away, except telling us there could be news coming soon. It’s a guarantee at this stage for Carrick to remain and be given at least next season to prove himself, and while it’s another call that could split the fans, he’s hardly put a foot wrong thus-far, and if United get their summer recruitment right, this looks like a squad that are together and ready to fight under their new manager.