Jamie Jackson was at Old Trafford tonight. Here’s his report. Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night!

Steve Cooper talks to Amazon. No need for umbrellas this time. “It was always going to be really tough. We knew the game was going to look as it did, in terms of territory and possession. The goals were a killer in terms of players not sticking to their responsibilities. I wouldn’t say we gifted them the goals, but it was really frustrating, and we could have backed ourselves a bit more [between the lines]. At this level, you have to make the most of those situations. They were better than us … but we never gave up and had some good territory ourselves in the second half, but didn’t have belief. I’m never one for criticising individuals publicly but there are a couple of people who didn’t stick to their job. United deserved to win, but we have to look at ourselves and we could have been so much better as a team.”

Erik ten Hag’s turn. “It is a pleasure to work with Casemiro. Everyone sees how important his role is. His level is huge. The players grow in the season. Our players performed really well in the World Cup, and now they continue. Stay at that level, keep going, and grow from game to game. We have to score more goals. We created so many chances, it took us just before the end to score the third goal. We have to end the game earlier. Life would be more easy, and we can save more energy, it is better for everyone. We have a lot of players who can score goals, but we have to be ruthless.”

As for possible signings during the January window? “We are always in the market. We do what we can. I don’t talk about individual cases. We are looking for a striker, it would be good with so many games coming. We want to stay in all the leagues we are in. So you need numbers.”

Marcus Rashford, ten goals already in all competitions this season, speaks to Amazon Prime. “I’m enjoying it. We’re winning a lot more football games, and the level of play has been higher. I hope we can keep kicking on. It’s a different mindset to last season, a different team playing different football. We should be scoring more goals and winning more games. It was a different mindset [last season] coming off the bench, worrying about making an impact. Every forward always has a number they want to try to reach, and mine is to score more than I ever have before in a season. I think that’s 22 or 23.”

90 min +5: Fernandes releases Fred down the left with a rabona. Fred wins a corner that comes to nothing, but what a party trick to finish the evening.

90 min +3: Johnson tears into acres of space down the right. He looks for Surridge in the middle, but can’t get his cross past the first man. Forest have found themselves in some good situations this evening, only for the final ball to be seriously lacking. Something to build on, at least, but tonight De Gea has had next to nothing to do.

90 min +2: Toffolo wins a corner off Elanga down the left. Dennis goes up to compete for it, but doesn’t connect, and it’s an easy pick for De Gea.

90 min: Amazon co-commentator Alan Shearer names Casemiro as his man of the match. He says Marcus Rashford was also in his thoughts. There will be five added minutes.

89 min: Dennis versus Casemiro again, as the Forest man dribbles down the left. He enters the box only for his cutback to be blocked out for a corner by the Brazilian midfield maestro. From the corner, Worrall wildly blazes over the bar.

86 min: Rashford is replaced by Elanga.

85 min: Williams works tirelessly down the right but the door stays closed. His shoulders droop in frustration.

83 min: Worrall’s free kick down the right releases Surridge, who earns a corner. The ball’s hit long to the far post, where Shaw heads clear. Toffolo tries to return the ball into the mixer, but that’s blocked easily. When play stops, Garnacho is booked for attempting to block the aforementioned free kick while standing right next to the taker. It was good refereeing to let play continue despite Garnacho’s cynical intervention.

81 min: Fred’s cute flick releases Malacia down the left. There are options in the middle, but the cross is no good. No matter: United are looking pretty comfortable here.

80 min: Williams floats it into the mixer. Yates should be penalised for hauling down Shaw, but isn’t. However the resulting game of pinball leads to nothing, so justice is done. United eventually clear their lines.

79 min: Shaw comes ploughing into the back of Yates, 30 yards from the United goal. A free kick and a chance for the visitors to load the box.

78 min: Williams works his way down the right to earn a corner. A goal now, and despite the balance of play, Forest would still be in this. But the set piece is a waste of time. “The whole Ronaldo drama has worked out well for everyone concerned this Christmas,” argues Justin Kavanagh. “Ten Haag’s attack looks much more mobile and fluid. And even though the whole world is talking about Messi, Ronaldo can finally claim to be in a league of his own.”

77 min: Two more changes by United. Maguire and Fred come on for Varane and Eriksen.

75 min: Garnacho dribbles hard down the left and looks for Rashford in the middle. Worrall hooks clear under great pressure. United are pressing hard for a third.

74 min: Williams comes on for Aurier. Then Eriksen is booked for some wrestling antics as Forest attempt to launch an attack.

73 min: Fernandes, just inside the centre circle, attempts to beat Hennessey with a long-distance lob. Only just over the bar. You wouldn’t bet your bottom dollar on the keeper getting to that had it been on target.

72 min: Comic cuts in the Forest box. First Hennessey flaps and misses at a left-wing cross. Then Casemiro floats a chip that nearly beats the keeper, who tips clear. And finally Van de Beek sees a shot pinball wide left. The corner’s cleared.

71 min: … but the ball didn’t go in the net for Forest, while VAR shows no interest in awarding a penalty to United.

70 min: … where Dennis attempts to backflick a left-wing cross into the net from close range. De Gea parries, then claims Surridge’s follow-up shot. That would have changed the mood in Old Trafford all right!

69 min: Van de Beek and Garnacho are already causing Aurier quite the headache. Their presence forces the Forest right-back to trundle the ball out for a corner. From the set piece, bedlam! The ball hits Freuler on the arm as he chests down to clear. United want a penalty. VAR to check. Meanwhile Forest tear up the other end …

67 min: Garnacho drives at Forest down the left and slips Van de Beek into the box. Van de Beek crosses low. Rashford hits a first-time sidefoot towards the bottom left. He should score, but doesn’t really connect properly, allowing Hennessey to hack off the line, albeit in a not particularly elegant manner. The resulting corner comes to very little.

65 min: United make a double change. They swap out Antony and Martial for Van de Beek and Garnacho.

63 min: De Gea nearly plays his back line into trouble with a poor pass upfield, but Casemiro and Wan-Bissaka combine to get United out of a spot. Ten Hag is making a proper all-round player out of Wan-Bissaka.

62 min: Forest make a triple change. Dennis, Toffolo and Surridge come on for Awoniyi, Mangala and Lodi.

60 min: Forest have enjoyed 56 percent of possession since the restart. But they’ve not worked De Gea, and it’s Hennessey who is once again forced into action. Fernandes slips Martial into the Forest box down the inside left. Martial tries to surprise the keeper at his near post, but can’t force the ball between his legs. Forest clear.

58 min: United stroke it around patiently. The crowd amuse themselves with their festive Eric Cantona countdown.

56 min: O’Brien’s first act is to over-elaborate on the edge of the United D, allowing the hosts to counter at pace. Rashford drives down the left and passes infield for Fernandes, who rolls the ball down the inside-right channel for Antony. Think an ersatz version of Pele to Carlos Alberto at the end of the 1970 World Cup final. Antony ruins it, though, opening his body and aiming a soft sidefoot towards the bottom left. Hennessey does extremely well to save, nevertheless.

54 min: Yep, Lingard isn’t able to continue. He limps off sadly, albeit to very warm applause from the Stretford End. He’s replaced by O’Brien.

52 min: Lingard rears up while in full flight, and grabs the back of his right leg. This doesn’t look great for the former Manchester United hero, whose goal settled the 2016 FA Cup final in favour of his old club.

51 min: Lodi crosses from the left. The ball looks like sailing out for a goal kick, and Malacia attempts to shepherd it out of play, but Johnson nips in from behind to keep it in play and win a corner off the United defender. Nothing comes of the set piece, but this is a signal raising of the tempo by the away side.

49 min: Aurier races down the right touchline, chalk on the old boots. He whistles low towards the near post, where Mangala flicks into the side netting from close range. Forest have clearly been told a few home truths during the break.

47 min: You know the score by now. A Forest corner leads immediately to a United counter. The home side flood up the other end, Fernandes racing down the right and outrageously attempting to beat Hennessey at his near post from a very tight angle. He ripples the side netting, but had that been on target, the keeper might well have been embarrassed again. He was flapping around a bit.

46 min: Forest come out aggressively, on the front foot, and Johnson whips a cross into the United box from the right. Awoniyi competes, forcing Varane to eyebrow over his own crossbar.

Forest get the second half underway. No changes. Incidentally, Amazon’s replay of the disallowed Forest goal suggests Yates’ initial header was off target, and Boly deflected it goalwards. In which case, Boly’s accidental intervention is a little less unlucky than your squinting MBM scribe suggested earlier. But either way, it’s fine margins, and it was the right decision to disallow. I’m boring myself now.

Half-time entertainment. There was another Premier League match earlier today. Here’s what happened at Stamford Bridge.

45 min: There will be three extra minutes added to the end of an entertaining, if one-sided, first half.

44 min: A 2-1 scoreline would have flattered Forest. But they were inches away from getting it. Boly’s inadvertent part in the goal changed nothing – the header was going in anyway – but the law’s the law.

41 min: … but VAR is going to check this for a possible hand ball – did Yates head it onto his right arm and in? – as well as offside, with Boly lurking just behind him.

39 min: Casemiro clatters into Lodi out on the left. A chance for Forest to load the United box. And from the free kick …

38 min: Antony has been quiet, compared to Rashford and Martial anyway, but now he pops up to the right of the D and aims a curler towards the top left. It’s always going over, but not by miles. United are playing some very easy-on-the-eye stuff this evening.

36 min: Wan-Bissaka comes piling into the back of Lingard and is slightly fortunate not to go into the book. It’s probably nothing more than a foul, but you’ve seen fussy referees dish them out for less. Forest pump the free kick into the box, and Awoniyi battles for the ball, but Malacia isn’t to be beaten and sweeps up.

34 min: Fernandes, deep on the right, attempts to release Malacia near the left-hand corner of the Forest box. The pass is overcooked and it flies out for a goal kick, but it’s an illustration of United’s confidence and ambition if nothing else.

32 min: … so having said that, Forest steam up the other end, Yates pearling a shot towards the bottom right from distance. De Gea turns it around the post in a very strange manner, using his right shoulder and twisting. But it gets the job done, and nothing happens at the resulting corner.

31 min: There’s a swagger in United’s play now. Forest are struggling to hang on in there as they’re pushed back, Eriksen, Martial and Casemiro flicking the ball elegantly hither and yon.

29 min: Aurier and Yates win another Forest corner down the right. This is probably more of a scoring opportunity for United on the counter, truth be told. And yes, the delivery is awful, and Rashford scampers off up the right at full pelt. Mangala cynically hauls him back, and he’s in the book as well now.

27 min: Malacia goes in for a 50-50 with Aurier. He scissors Aurier’s standing leg and earns himself the first booking of the evening. It looked clumsy rather than malicious, but he can have no complaints.

26 min: United’s tails are up all right. Malacia sashays down the left and then along the byline. He can’t quite find anybody with his attempted cutback, but Forest needed to swarm him to put a stop to his gallop.

24 min: Forest can be forgiven for thinking about that 8-1 all those years ago. Hennessey’s clanger won’t help.

21 min: That was such a simple goal. But such a sweet one as well. Work on the training ground paying off. Rashford is a player on a hot streak of form. Who needs Ronaldo? MR10 is your man.

18 min: United are enjoying more of the possession, though. Antony’s insistent work out on the right wins another corner. Eriksen to take. And …

17 min: … nothing much occurs. Forest will be reasonably happy with their start. Apart from the Malacia shot, United haven’t threatened much.

16 min: Rashford dribbles down the left and earns a corner off Aurier. From which …

14 min: The corner’s no good. United attempt to counter but Fernandes’ attempt to find Rashford is inaccurate and all momentum is lost. United come again, though, Rashford working his way down the right and releasing Wan-Bissaka into a bit of space. The full back – who is much improved in attack these days under Ten Hag – fires a a low cross into the box that’s hacked clear at the near post. Good move that.

13 min: Yeats skitters down the right and earns Forest the first corner of the evening.

10 min: Antony’s poor pass towards Malacia on the left is telegraphed and easily intercepted by Aurier. The ball’s shuttled forward to Lingard, who tries to release Awoniyi down the inside-left channel with a scooped pass. Had he got more air on the pass, United would have been in trouble. But Varane is able to intercept.

10 min: Antony’s poor pass towards Malacia on the left is telegraphed and easily intercepted by Aurier. The ball’s shuttled forward to Lingard, who tries to release Awoniyi down the inside-left channel with a scooped pass. Had he got more air on the pass, United would have been in trouble. But Varane is able to intercept.

8 min: Man back up. Johnson’s good to continue after a few deep breaths and a quick inventory check.

7 min: Johnson takes a full Shaw clearance in the fruit-bowl from close range. Ooyah, oof, that’s gotta hurt. And indeed it does. Man down!

6 min: Wan-Bissaka dinks a ball in from the right. Rashford takes it down at the far post, cuts back, then fires into a thicket of players. The ball breaks left to Malacia, who creams a drive goalwards. Hennessey parries a little clumsily onto the left-hand post. But it’s enough to get the job done. Forest clear.

5 min: Shaw is playing as emergency centre back tonight, incidentally, alongside World Cup finalist Varane. Not ideal for United, but do Forest have enough to test the bespoke partnership?

3 min: A little bit of possession for Forest now. Aurier loops the ball into the United box from the right. Shaw heads it clear. United counter, Fernandes nearly getting the better of Worrall down the left. The Forest defender stands firm and doesn’t let him past. Neat play all round.

2 min: United spend the first minute pinging it around the back to get a feel of the ball. Casemiro earns the first gasp of the evening with a cute flick in the centre circle.

United and Forest take the knee – there’s no room for racism – and then the hosts get the ball rolling. It’s raining. Have we mentioned it’s raining?

The teams are out! Manchester United in their famous red, white and black, Nottingham Forest in second-choice yellow. This will be the last time Forest wear a shirt without a sponsor this season: they’ll carry the logo of UK for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in the New Year. The club explain how it will be “a sign of solidarity for families who have been forced to flee their homes and communities.” There’s a moment of warm applause in memory of 1966 World Cup legend George Cohen, who recently passed. We’ll be off in a minute.

Ten Hag talks to Amazon! Inside! Where it’s dry and warm! Man’s no fool. "We have had illnesses during the week. Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Scott McTominay. Harry recovered but is not fit to start, so we have to be a little bit creative. We had to choose and we prefer this line-up. Raphael Varane takes responsibility, that’s why he’s so successful, he’s so important. He directly told me: ‘I’m ready, play me.’ The World Cup was quite intense for him, so we have to take care of him, but this is an emergency case and that’s why he is playing.”

No word yet from Erik ten Hag. Perhaps he’s got wind of Amazon’s ungracious rain-canopy distribution policy. In lieu of hot-off-the-press pre-match platitudes, here’s the latest coming out of the club courtesy of our man Jamie Jackson.

Forest boss Steve Cooper is interviewed by Amazon Prime under a pouring Mancunian sky. Host Simon Thomas and pundits Michael Owen, Patrice Evra and Stuart Pearce all have brollies. Steve does not. It’s like the trophy presentation at the 2018 World Cup final all over again, the Amazon collective in the role of that bauchle Putin. “We were doing a little bit better just before the break. We’ve tried to maximise the time [of the break] as best we can. The more time these guys spend together, the more they can grow into what we want to be. We have to make sure we pick up where we left off. It’s going to be difficult here, but we have to believe in what we do. We know this is a big game and a big stage, but we have to back ourselves. If we don’t, we don’t give ourselves the best opportunity. Thanks for the umbrella, by the way. I know where I stand!”

Manchester United make four changes to their starting XI from last week’s League Cup victory over Burnley. David de Gea, Raphael Varane, Luke Shaw and Antony replace Martin Dubravka, Victor Lindelof, Scott McTominay and Alejandro Garnacho. Club captain Harry Maguire is back, but only on the bench. Lisandro Martinez and Jadon Sancho are both missing, the former presumably still en fête.

Nottingham Forest make three changes to the XI named for their League Cup win at Blackburn last week. Wayne Hennessey takes the gloves from the on-loan Dean Henderson, who can’t play for his parent club, while Serge Aurier and Renan Lodi replace Neco Williams and Harry Toffolo in the wing-back positions. Jesse Lingard returns to his long-time stamping ground.

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