9 passes in 90 mins, 100% aerial duels lost: Club legend says this United star looked “awkward” and “well off it” vs Forest

Manchester United had to settle for a point from their Premier League encounter against struggling side Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Saturday. It was the visitors who had taken the lead through Casemiro, but things unravelled fast in the second half. Within five minutes of the restart, the Red Devils conceded twice, with Diogo Dalot enduring a nightmarish time out on the pitch. Instead of going all out on attack, Ruben Amorim opted to change things at the back as United struggled to create any clear-cut chances. But Amad stepped up and found the back of the net with a blinder to spare his head coach’s blushes as the match ended 2-2. Players were pretty disappointed with a result, but the Portuguese tactician seemed pleased with the fightback. Benjamin Sesko struggled vs Forest One player who struggled immensely against Forest was Benjamin Sesko. The striker had only 21 touches while he lost the ball on seven occasions. Out of his 13 attempted passes, the Slovenian found a teammate with only nine of them. Not only that but he also lost all his aerial duels. StatisticValue Goals0 Expected Goals (xG)0.16 Assists0 Expected Assists (xA)0 Total Shots3 Shots on Target0 Shots Blocked1 Touches21 Unsuccessful Touches3 Dribbles (Successful)0 (0) Possession Lost7 Key Passes0 Crosses (Accurate)0 (0) Accurate Passes9/13 (69%) Passes in Opposition Half (Acc.)6/10 (60%) Passes in Own Half (Acc.)3/3 (100%) Tackles (Won)0 (0) Interceptions0 Clearances1 Blocked Shots0 Ground Duels (Won)0 (0) He was given the joint lowest score (5.9) among all outfield players by Sofascore. Given he is only 22, the ex-RB Leipzig ace is bound to take time to adapt to the English game, which is why it was surprising that Amorim did not bring him off for either Joshua Zirkzee or Mason Mount. Club legend Gary Neville was not impressed either and told NBC Sports that for a €76.5 million signing, the Slovenian international should have done a lot better. Gary Neville was not impressed “I’m no further forward with him. The jury is out. He’s well off it compared to the other summer signings that Man United made up front in [Matheus] Cunha and [Bryan] Mbeumo. “He looks awkward, he had a couple of really good opportunities in the first half when balls got played over the top and his touch wasn’t quite right. “For 80 million pound, you can say he’s young, has a lot of potential and is only just settling in, but you still want to see a bit more.” It almost feels like a case of deja vu, with INEOS spending big to sign an inexperienced striker to lead the line instead of a proven face, just like the Glazers had done with Rasmus Hojlund. Benjamin Sesko does look more ready than the Dane, but he still needs help and Amorim must bring in a backup to ease the burden on him. Feature image Molly Darlington via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Ayantan Chowdhury After failing to become a professional footballer, Ayantan switched to the next best thing: writing about the greatest football club in the world. He has extensive sports journalism experience, having worked for over 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25