Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder could not hide his disappointment after his side let slip a two-goal lead to draw 3-3 against Fulham at Bramall Lane.
The Blades led 3-1 with four minutes of regulation time remaining after Ben Brereton Diaz’s second-half double sandwiched Oli McBurnie’s effort.
Joao Palhinha had headed Fulham level after Brereton Diaz’s opener, while two stunning finishes from substitute Bobby De Cordova-Reid and Rodrigo Muniz – the latter’s in stoppage time – rescued the Londoners a point.
Wilder, whose side had conceded 21 goals in their four previous home matches, said: “When you score three goals at home in the Premier League, to only get a draw, I think that’s the disappointing aspect of it.
“Obviously the narrative from everybody was home form, goals conceded and being out of the game after 25 minutes, so we had to make sure we did something about it.
“We had to get a foothold in the game, so first base was reached at half-time and the message at half-time was we just needed to show a bit more quality, more belief, enjoy the ball a little bit more, and they did.
“We scored three good goals from our point of view. The flip side is another set-piece has hurt us and then two incredible finishes get them something out of the game.”
Brereton Diaz and McBurnie, who had a second effort after the interval ruled out for offside, combined with deadly precision for the Blades’ first two goals.
Wilder added: “I’m sure if we had been able to stick those two together for a little bit more time we would have reaped the rewards of two really good players, who obviously have an understanding.”
Fulham head coach Marco Silva also admitted it had been a bitter-sweet afternoon for his side after they had dominated before Brereton Diaz’s 58th-minute opener.
Silva said: “I have to say it was an exciting game for sure for the people who were here, but I have to be honest, it was a disappointing result for us. Clearly disappointing.
“When you are dominant from the first minute like we were, the team who created more clear chances to win the game – it is disappointing.
“Of course the reaction, I have to say, as a team it was fantastic. As a team we refused to lose this game because of the way we dominated.
“We showed the quality to come back from 3-1, scoring two great goals and creating more chances even to win the game in the last minutes.”
Muniz struck the woodwork twice, either side of the interval, before Fulham fell behind and the Brazilian striker has now scored eight in as many top-flight appearances.
Silva added: “It was unlucky for him with two off the post, but he kept his composure and trusted in himself.
“He scored a great goal to help the team get a point and there’s much more to come from him.”
United boss Amorim defends Fernandes substitution in defeat to Forest
Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim defended his decision to take off captain Bruno Fernandes as the hosts suffered a 3-2 defeat to Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford.
Nikola Milenkovic, Morgan Gibbs-White and Chris Wood scored as Forest inflicted a second straight defeat on Amorim's side in the Premier League.
Fernandes was one of the better players for United on the pitch and scored their second goal in the 61st minute to set up a tense finish to the game.
But the Portugal international was substituted in the 75th minute, with Mason Mount replacing him as United failed to find inroads into the Forest defence.
"Bruno was too tired and I wanted Mount to play that position of second midfielder who opens a bit on the left," Amorim told Sky Sports after the game.
"Joshua [Zirkzee] plays with Rasmus [Hojlund] to have combinations, [Leny] Yoro goes off because we can't give him too many minutes.
"We put Harry Maguire on because of set-pieces, to control more who was winning all the first balls, the only way to attack Nottingham was transitions, to try and win first and second balls. When Harry was on the pitch, he won all the first balls."
Fernandes was also denied by the woodwork from a free-kick in the first half as United dropped to 13th in the table. They were also beaten 2-0 by Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.
"It's not a surprise because we come in the middle of a lot of games," said Amorim.
"It's really disappointing for the fans, after so many times with disappointment, but we are here to do a job and will continue doing the same things to improve the team."
Meanwhile, their opponents moved to fifth place with another impressive victory and are now only two points behind champions Manchester City above them.
Nuno Espirito Santo's side have won seven matches and drawn and lost four apiece to collect 25 points from 15 matches.
Forest scored inside two minutes in both halves at Old Trafford to bounce back from a 3-0 defeat to Manchester City during the midweek.
"The belief of the players, believing every action is important [to scoring early goals]. The beginning of the second half was very good for us too. Composure was good. The team is growing, and improving. We still have things to address but it's nice," Nuno told BBC Sport.
"It's very important always to bounce back after a bad result. We didn't have a bad performance against City. Fresh leg made a difference during the game."
While United face City in their next Premier League outing, Forest welcome Aston Villa in their next outing.
Manchester United 2-3 Nottingham Forest: Wood hits winner as Amorim's side lose again
Manchester United suffered back-to-back defeats in the Premier League following a 3-2 defeat to Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford.
Chris Wood's 10th league goal of the season in the 54th minute proved to be the winner as Forest climbed to fifth place – only two points behind fourth-placed Manchester City.
Nikola Milenkovic put the visitors ahead with only 91 seconds on the clock as he headed in a corner from Elliot Anderson, but Rasmus Hojlund levelled the score for United 16 minutes later, following up after Alejandro Garnacho's initial effort was saved by Matz Sels.
Jota Silva and Bruno Fernandes were denied by the woodwork during the first half before Morgan Gibbs-White made it 2-1 to Forest just two minutes after the restart.
Wood then planted a looping header past Andre Onana to double Forest's lead before United captain Fernandes then pulled one back just past the hour mark.
Ruben Amorim's side pushed for an equaliser, but Forest kept them at bay to collect the full points.
Forest now have 25 points from 15 matches, while United are in 13th place with 19 points.
Data Debrief: Wood makes Forest history
Wood's winner was his 25th Premier League goal for Forest and helped him overtake Bryan Roy (24) to become their all-time leading scorer in the competition.
Since Nuno Espírito Santo's appointment in December 2023, only Erling Haaland (21) has scored more non-penalty goals in the competition than Wood (19 – level with Cole Palmer).
Nuno became just the second Forest manager to win both of his first two league games against United, after Fred Earp in the 1909-10 campaign.
Meanwhile, his counterpart Amorim suffered two straight defeats for only the second time, with the first coming during his stint with former club Sporting in August 2022.
Unai Emery sets Champions League mission as Aston Villa edge Southampton win
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery is quickly turning his attention to the UEFA Champions League following their 1-0 Premier League win over Southampton.
Jhon Duran's first-half goal sealed successive league victories for Emery on the back of three straight top-flight losses against rivals Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham.
Victory against the Saints is a vital boost for Emery ahead of a crucial few weeks of action before the end of 2024.
Villa head to RB Leipzig on 10 December, looking to push their case for a spot in the Round of 16, followed by four more league clashes this month.
The immediate focus for Emery is on Leipzig, with Villa's contrasting European form a cause for concern, despite a brilliant start on their Champions League debut.
Three straight wins in their first appearance in the competition since it was renamed – including an historic 1-0 home victory over Bayern Munich – put Villa in a strong position, but defeat to Club Brugge and a 0-0 tie with Juventus has stalled their momentum.
The former Arsenal chief wants this result to act as a platform for his team ahead of their tricky trip to Germany in midweek.
"Over the 90 minutes we had chances to score more, but sometimes they dominated possession. We managed the game plan to try and find a way to win," as per quotes from BBC Sport.
"The most important thing is how we're progressively getting more comfortable on the field. We had to use substitutions because we have the Champions League on Tuesday. Three matches in nine days. We have to be ready with the players we have available to try and enjoy the competition.
"The Champions League is something we have to enjoy, but we also focus on the difficulties in the Premier League, and the challenge against Nottingham Forest is something else. But, we have to try and get to the next round of the Champions League."
Up next for Villa is that Midlands derby with Forest, followed by a crunch clash at home to Manchester City on 21 December.
A win for Villa puts them up to fifth in the table, but defeat for Southampton registers as their 12th league loss of the campaign so far, with Russell Martin's team still rooted to the foot of the table.
Individual mistakes are becoming a theme, and centre-back Taylor Harwood-Bellis was robbed by Duran for Villa's winner, with Martin left to rue a familiar frustrating story for his team.
"We gave away a poor goal when it was a good, tight game. We changed shape and then the game became transitional. They were trying to find another goal, so it became very open," he said.
"We're two v one, and we had a chance to clear the ball, and we don't. It's another mistake. We forced them long, and then we had another two v one, and he [Duran] somehow comes out with the ball and scores."
Up next for Southampton is a home tie with Tottenham next weekend, followed by an EFL Cup quarter-final at home to Liverpool on December 18.
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