Anthony Elanga nets stunning solo goal to haunt former club United as Forest win fifth straight

Anthony Elanga scored a sensational solo goal to burn his former club Manchester United as Nottingham Forest won a fifth straight game.

Inside the first five minutes, Elanga collected the ball inside his own half and carried it all the way to the other end, evading a desperate Alejandro Garnacho tackle and disregarding pressure from United defenders before finishing sweetly with his weak foot.

The win sees the hosts move into a comfortable third in the league table, eight points clear of Chelsea in fourth and nine ahead of Manchester City in fifth.

Barring an absolute disaster, Champions League football looks set to grace the City Ground next season.

United’s season continues to go from bad to worse as Ruben Amorim’s men remain 13th and most of the teams around them in the standings have at least a game in hand to capitalise on.

Forest have five wins from their last five in all competitions with an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City to look forward to later this month also.

WATCH: Nottingham Forest 1-0 Manchester United Highlights

1-0: Anthony Elanga (5′)

ANTHONY ELANGA, THAT IS INCREDIBLE! ⚡

The winger scores a blistering solo goal against his former side 👏

📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/9J38PnbMsV

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 1, 2025

Why did Manchester United sell Anthony Elanga?

In July 2023 Forest signed Elanga from Old Trafford after the Sweden international spent nine years in Manchester, rising through the youth ranks and progressing to the first team.

The winger broke through at the end of the 2020/21 season under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, scoring his first senior goal on the final day of the Premier League campaign against Wolves.

The highlight of his United career came when scoring away from home in his side’s Champions League round of 16 first leg against Atletico Madrid in February 2022.

He made just five league starts the following season when Erik ten Hag stepped into the dugout and the club opted to move him on for a £15 million fee with Forest willing takers.

In February, Elanga dismissed claims Ten Hag was the reason he left the club and insisted he wanted somewhere to play regular football instead of wasting his talent on the bench.

United’s loss is Forest’s gain here and the 22-year-old has proved to be one of the bargain buys of the last few seasons.

In 73 appearances for the Reds, Elanga has scored 11 goals and provided 18 assists.