🔗 Share this article

If you can't triumph, avoid defeat - so the old saying goes.

Prior to their trip to Forest, Man Utd had secured merely 8 points from deficit situations under Ruben Amorim. They had not got a single point from the previous six matches when they were losing since the trip to Bournemouth last spring, when a last-minute goal snatched a draw.

When they went down at the stadium after conceding twice in a short span, as Nottingham Forest reversed a contentious opening period opener, Manchester United were facing defeat.

The question to Amorim after his side recovered to tie could not have been more straightforward.

Had that match happened the previous campaign, do you believe you would have lost it?'

The answer was equally decisive.

"Yes, and by a larger margin, that is my feeling."

We can never know the actual outcome. What we do know that Amad Diallo demonstrated why the coach selects him at defensive wing by scoring a spectacular volleyed strike from just outside the penalty area nine minutes from time to earn a point.

It's been clear since the beginning of the season that Manchester United are performing at a higher level this season. Since the beginning of October, they have also been achieving more positive outcomes.

The determination, the desire, the unwillingness to surrender are intangibles.

In this game, the manager felt his squad showed they have improved at that as well.

"Previously, if we had such a poor short period and we suffered two goals, we don't recover," said the coach. "Today is a distinct sensation. You can sense we could not triumph in the match but we are determined not to be defeated. And that is a mindset a big team occasionally has to have."

The manager didn't mention it, but the arrival of Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo likely contributed.

Cunha is not one to shy away from challenging circumstances, on the contrary in fact. In the opening period, when he was booed by the local supporters for what they felt was his gamesmanship, he reacted - rather than ignore it - pointing to the badge on his kit.

Mbeumo is a energetic nuisance, the epitome of a player who will not give an opponent any rest.

The coach was questioned exactly what had caused the mental improvement. Apart from saying the confidence generated from the previous three successive wins, he didn't provide an answer.

"Our self-belief, of course, is totally different," he stated. "We came from three positive performances and we have a newfound assurance. The players comprehend one another more effectively. We communicate increased about these aspects.

"We proved this year we can experience bad moments but then, we have three good games.

"We just need to be inside the game until the last moments. Previously, we could have collapsed completely the way we played the encounter. Now, the feeling was different."

Doubt Lingers Over Futures of Zirkzee and the midfielder

If this was a occasion when United displayed their resilience, it was also a day that must have left Joshua Zirkzee and the young midfielder even more uncertain of their roles in Amorim's new-look Manchester United.

In his pre-match press conference, Amorim said it was possible members of the squad who think they are at risk of missing the international tournament will request transfers in the January signing period.

It is fair to assume Zirkzee and the midfielder fit into that bracket. Zirkzee has accumulated less than two full games from his 4 top-flight cameo roles in the current campaign. For Mainoo, the total is 138 from seven.

Not one has begun a league match this season and nor were they asked to come off the bench at the City Ground, as the team chased a way back into a game they were trailing in from the second half.

"Our squad includes a great deal of talent on the bench but at times I have the impression if I'm going to stop the game all the time, I'm going to break something," said the manager. "Our performance was getting better during the later stages, so my instinct was not to change anything with the players in attack."

Mainoo had a agreement in progress to join the Italian club in the last days of the transfer period but the club would not approve a transfer. Zirkzee was coming back from a fitness issue but is currently considering the idea of a move back to Serie A.

The circumstances is complicated by the loss of Mbeumo and the wing-back to the continental tournament in the middle of December, a period which includes a couple of midweek games which will demand a degree of squad changes unseen before.

Since the final is on January 18th, the pair are expected to be back well before the transfer window ends on 2 February - which may mean a later resolution than any eager to leave individual would like.

"It is the characteristics of the game," said the coach, when questioned specifically about the forward and the midfielder. "The players understand it's only a phase.

"It isn't related to quality - and we have a many fixtures."