Man Utd 2 Nottm Forest 3
Manchester United 2 Nottingham Forest 3, Old Trafford, English Football League First Division, January 18, 1986. Table-toppers Manchester United lost three vital points against mid-tablers Nottingham Forest in front of a 47,000 strong home crowd. United were a goal down at the interval and ultimately ended up losing the match by three goals to two.
Manchester United were missing Paul McGrath, while Nottingham Forest had to manage without Garry Birtles and Ian Butterworth. Against the run of play, Colin Walsh gave Forest the upper hand when the twenty-three-year-old midfielder fired a well-placed shot from inside the eighteen-yard area past England international goalkeeper Gary Bailey and into the bottom left-hand corner of the net three minutes ahead of the break. After the restart, Jesper Olsen equalised for Manchester United from the penalty spot only a minute into the second half before the free-flowing flank forward notched up another goal for the title contenders with a close range effort which went into the top left-hand corner of the net seven minutes past the hour mark. Then, with the game entering its closing stages, Walsh netted his second goal of the day in the 82nd minute before Nigel Clough, the son of City Ground manager Brian Clough, registered the winner for the visitors with just two minutes to go. Despite being beaten 3-2 by Nottingham Forest, Manchester United remained top of the table with 55 points collected from 26 matches, two points above Everton, Liverpool, and Chelsea respectively. Manchester United Team: Gary Bailey, Billy Garton, Colin Gibson, John Gidman, Arthur Albiston, Kevin Moran, Gordon Strachan, Jesper Olsen, Frank Stapleton, Norman Whiteside, Mark Hughes. Substitute: Clayton Blackmore. Nottingham Forest Team: Steve Sutton, Brett Williams, Gary Fleming, John Metgod, Des Walker, Ian Bowyer, Neil Webb, Colin Walsh, Nigel Clough, Franz Carr, Peter Davenport. Substitute: David Campbell.
Jesper Olsen Quickfacts
Jesper Olsen contributed 21 goals in 139 Eredivisie appearances for Dutch giants Ajax before he joined Manchester United for a transfer fee of £350,000 at the beginning of the 1984-85 season.
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