Nottingham Forest boss fumes over referee decision as he gives verdict on Manchester United loss

Steve Cooper suggested the referee may have got a big call wrong during Nottingham Forest's 3-2 defeat at Manchester United on Saturday.

Forest failed to hold on after taking an early two-goal lead at Old Trafford, with United fighting back to claim a second home win in a row. Taiwo Awoniyi and Willy Boly had given the away side a shock lead inside four minutes, but goals from Christian Eriksen, Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes turned the tide.

The latter goal came from the penalty spot after a reckless challenge by Danilo left Marcus Rashford on the floor, while defender Joe Worrall was shown a straight red for denying a goalscoring opportunity when he brought down Fernandes. VAR reviewed the sending off and deemed Stuart Attwell's call to have been correct.

Speaking after full-time, Forest boss Cooper reflected on a chaotic start to the match but suggested he was far from happy with at least one of the two major decisions.

RATINGS: Fernandes and Eriksen good in win vs Forest

"We gave everything, that’s for sure," Cooper told Match of the Day. "The start was a bit of an obscure one. You plan to start well but we didn’t think we’d start as well as that. It set the tone for the whole game.

"I’m not going to overegg a defeat too much, but at the same time you have to look a bit deeper than a result. It’s still a loss, though, and we have to turn it around if we can.

"We knew we’d have to absorb pressure from United, but we created chances ourselves. You need luck on your side. It was clear that it wasn’t with the way some situations went.

"The modern referees are top ones – they really take their time over things. It was the opposite today. I’d love to talk more and say what I really think, but I can’t do that."

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