Former Manchester United forward Anthony Elanga returned to haunt his former side, netting an early goal for Nottingham Forest in their 1-0 victory on Tuesday evening.
United made their way to the City Ground hoping to build on their recent positive results. The visitors started well as they dominated possession, but it was Forest who took the lead after just five minutes of action.
Elanga picked up the ball from outside Forest’s penalty area and ran all the way up the pitch and shrugged off Alejandro Garnacho before putting the ball past Andre Onana and into the back of the net.
The Carrington academy graduate looked like he was going to celebrate but he quickly stopped himself, presumably as a mark of respect for his former side.
United continued to dominate possession and had a few chances to equalise but they couldn’t hit the target.
The result has left the Red Devils in 13th place in the Premier League table with eight games left to play.
There were a number of United players who weren’t quite up to the level against Forest but one who gave a good account of themselves was Yoro.
Yoro was named in the starting XI after a short injury spell before the March international break. He initially played on the right side of the three-man defence but in the second-half, was shifted to the left. He barely put a foot wrong in both positions.
Yoro made several amazing contributions, with the standout moment being a superb tackle on Elanga to prevent the Swede from breaking through on goal.
During the 88 minutes he was on the pitch before being replaced by Maguire, Yoro made two clearances and blocked half as many shots.
He put in three tackles, winning the ball all three times.
Lenny Yoro’s game by numbers vs. Forest:
100% tackles won
91% pass accuracy
78 passes attempted
71 passes completed
3 tackles attempted
3 tackles won
2 clearances
1 block
1 last man tackleOne brilliant tackle on Anthony Elanga. pic.twitter.com/FLNUqR7To8
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) April 1, 2025
The Frenchman won three of the four ground duels he contested and came out on top in one of three aerial challenges he vied for.
The teenager touched the ball on 87 occasions. One thing that stuck out about Yoro’s game was how confident he was in possession. The defender successfully delivered 72 of the 79 passes he attempted (91% pass accuracy).
Yoro also managed to connect with the one long ball he pinged.
(Additional stats obtained from Sofascore)
It was a monstrous performance from Yoro, who seems to be growing in stature at United. Unluckily for him, he was on the losing side.
Featured image Michael Steele via Getty Images
Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social
Derick Kinoti
Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
