Kobbie Mainoo substitution explained as Christian Eriksen gives verdict on Man United loss vs Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest condemned Manchester United to their ninth Premier League defeat of the season on Saturday evening.

Erik ten Hag’s side equalised in the 78th minute but Forest regained the advantage just four minutes later. The City Ground roared their team on throughout the 10 minutes of added time as a toothless United attack struggled to break a resilient backline down. The Reds are now nine points off the top four and a place in next season's Champions League is looking increasingly unlikely.

Here are your headlines for Sunday, December 31 after United failed to gain ground in the Champions League race.

READ MORE: Manchester United player ratings vs Nottingham Forest

READ MORE: United youngster set for new contract after impressing Ten Hag

Mainoo sub explained

Ten Hag insists he has no regrets about the tactical substitution of Kobbie Mainoo in the 2-1 defeat at Forest. Mainoo was replaced by Scott McTominay at half-time with the game goalless and both of Forest's goals came from unmarked shots just inside the United area.

When asked if Mainoo's removal was enforced, Ten Hag replied: "No, but he played a third game in a row in this week and that's tough, where he's coming from. I thought the energy was a little bit lower than the other two games this week, therefore we brought some new energy in. I don't regret.

"I thought Scott brought energy, I thought second half was much better our side. The first goal, when you analyse it good, we were downsized. Nothing to do with the central midfield there.”

To read more, click here.

Eriksen aims to look forward

Christian Eriksen is keen to move on after United's 2-1 defeat to Forest at the City Ground on Saturday evening. Second-half goals from Nicolas Dominguez