Christian Eriksen says Manchester United must iron out their inconsistencies after a limp defeat at Nottingham Forest that was “hard to swallow” but “nothing new”.
Erik ten Hag’s side have seen forward momentum followed by setbacks on numerous occasions this season, with the conclusion to 2023 epitomising their ongoing issues.
Old Trafford was rocking on Boxing Day as United secured a brilliant 3-2 comeback against Aston Villa, but their performance regressed on the banks of the Trent on Saturday evening.
Morgan Gibbs-White’s late strike sealed Forest a memorable 2-1 triumph as United suffered a 21st defeat of the calendar year, and 14th in all competitions of a chastening campaign.
“Disappointed,” midfielder Eriksen said when summing up the dressing room mood. “I think we came out with the belief that we’re going to get the three points.
“I think in the biggest part of the game we were in a good position to get the three points.
“Obviously the goals were tough, the moments we conceded, but, in the end, we have zero points which is not good enough.”
United were dealing with a string of absentees at the City Ground, including Boxing Day matchwinner Rasmus Hojlund through illness.
That offers some mitigation but the overall performance was far too meek and loose, only increasing the pressure on under-fire Ten Hag and his players.
“We have to look forward, we have to work to get back,” Eriksen said.
“I mean, this season has been a lot of ups and downs, so it’s nothing new for us.
“This of course is hard to swallow, but we have to get back up and there’s no other way than focus on the next game.”
United return to action at Wigan in the FA Cup third round on January 8 and then host Tottenham in what is their only scheduled January fixture in the Premier League.
“(We must) be together as a team,” Eriksen told MUTV. “I mean, in all careers, all football clubs, there’ll be ups and downs and you have to go through them.
“I’ve personally found the best way forward is to work hard and really look ahead, and I think that’ll be the same for us as players that we have to put this behind us.
“First of all, of course, see what has gone wrong and change a few things, but in the end to work hard and try to get through to the next one.”
While United nurse their wounds, Forest head into 2024 buoyed by two impressive scalps in five days.
Chris Wood’s hat-trick secured a 3-1 win at Newcastle on Boxing Day and Saturday’s heroics at the City Ground wrapped up a first win against United since 1994.
Nuno Espirito Santo has overseen quite the change in fortunes since replacing popular Steve Cooper on December 20 but the Forest manager knows there is much more to come from his players.
“They are working hard,” the Portuguese said. “They are believing in themselves.
“They are working as a team and helping each other, not only with the ball but without the ball.
“We have a lot of things to improve but the credit goes to them. It’s them, it’s them, they are reacting very well.
“We give them belief by telling them to try to find each other, try to play, because that’s the only way that you can evolve as a team.
“If you don’t try things, if you don’t make mistakes, the important thing is the reaction to the mistakes, so they are doing that.
“But there is a long way to go. We are here and all of us know this is just the beginning.”
Bristol City Women 0-4 Man City Women: Hosts relegated as Fowler double inspires WSL leaders
Mary Fowler scored twice to set WSL leaders Manchester City on their way to a 4-0 rout of Bristol City, who suffered relegation as a result, on Sunday.
With Arsenal having drawn with Everton earlier in the day, Man City knew a victory would be enough to take the title race down to two teams.
That victory duly arrived in emphatic fashion, with all four of Man City's goals arriving in the second half.
Fowler's fantastic strike opened the scoring in the 62nd minute, with the Australia international doubling her tally soon after, paving the way for an Amy Rodgers own goal and Alex Greenwood's late header to seal a huge victory.
Arsenal are now out of the title race, with Chelsea - who have two games in hand on Gareth Taylor's team - the only side capable of catching Man City.
The Robins, meanwhile, will be playing in the second tier again next term.
Data Debrief: Bristol heading down with a whimper
Bristol City have failed to score in their last five games in the WSL, a run of 544 minutes without a goal.
They mustered just 0.09 expected goals (xG) to Man City's 3.4, with the visitors having now kept a clean sheet in nine of their 20 league games this season.
De Rossi demands more from 'tired' Roma ahead of crunch run
Daniele De Rossi acknowledged his Roma team may be tired, but he insisted they must not allow themselves to be embarrassed.
Roma fought back to draw 2-2 with last season's Serie A champions Napoli in a pulsating fixture on Sunday.
Tammy Abraham's late header secured a point for De Rossi's team, who took the lead through Paulo Dybala's penalty before going behind to goals from Matias Olivera and Victor Osimhen.
With Serie A set to have five teams in the Champions League next season, Roma occupy fifth spot with four matches remaining, but sixth-placed Atalanta are just two points behind with a game in hand.
There is also the small matter of a Europa League semi-final against Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen on the cards over the coming weeks, and De Rossi set the stall out.
"We drew, it is not a result to throw away, but it is not the result or the performance that we wanted," Roma coach Daniele De Rossi told Sky Sports Italia.
"At times you can steal the ball off Napoli, but we then gave it back again too many times. Napoli had a lot of chances in the first half, we did better in the second, but we have to do better.
"Look, we are tired, but we cannot start thinking that we’re tired and that means we can be embarrassed in the final few weeks of the season."
Roma host Leverkusen on Thursday before taking on Juventus on May 5, with a crunch clash against Atalanta – who are also into the Europa League semi-finals – set to follow after the away leg against Xabi Alonso's team.
Key to a successful end to the campaign for Roma will be keeping Dybala fit. The Argentine has been involved in the joint-most goals (12) in Serie A since the turn of the year, scoring nine and setting up three, level with Juve's Dusan Vlahovic.
PSG's latest Ligue 1 title arrives as Monaco lose to Lyon
Paris Saint-Germain have been crowned as Ligue 1 champions after Lyon overcame Monaco 3-2 on Sunday.
A 4-1 midweek win over Lorient ensured that one more victory would be enough for Luis Enrique's team to get over the line, but PSG failed to get the job done themselves when they faced relegation-threatened Le Havre on Saturday.
That game was the 700th match of the QSI era at PSG, and the club's 1,900th in France's top flight.
However, PSG's wait to win their third straight title did not last long, as less than 24 hours later, Lyon – who will face the Parisians in the final of the Coupe de France at the end of May – came out on top in a topsy turvy encounter with second-placed Monaco.
Substitute Malick Fofana was the matchwinner for Lyon, and ultimately the player who handed the title to PSG.
Wissam Ben Yedder had put Monaco ahead in the opening minute, but quickfire goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Said Benrahma turned the match on its head before half-time.
Ben Yedder netted his second to restore parity on the hour mark, and thought he had sealed his hat-trick when he volleyed in from a free-kick, only to have strayed offside.
With only a win good enough for Monaco to stay in the fight, the visitors were then caught out in the 84th minute, with Fofana racing onto Lacazette's throughball and finishing calmly.
After a dismal start to the season, relegation looked a real possibility for Lyon, but they are now, with three games remaining, still in with a shout of qualifying for Europe.
PSG on the other hand now have 12 Ligue 1 titles to their name, with 10 of those coming under QSI's ownership. Aside from the COVID-impacted 2019-20 season, five of their last six league titles have been secured before the start of May.
It also means Luis Enrique remains in the running for a treble in his first season at the club, with PSG taking on Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League semi-finals next week.
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