Keylor Navas immediately showed his class on his Nottingham Forest debut as he helped his new club to a 1-0 win over Leeds in a crunch clash at the bottom of the Premier League.
The three-time Champions League winner with Real Madrid was part of Forest’s recruitment drive in January, making a loan switch from Paris St Germain, and he produced a string of saves in the first half to keep Leeds at bay.
He had already saved from Luis Sinisterra by the time Brennan Johnson’s 14th-minute goal put Forest ahead and then he kept out Luke Ayling and Willy Gnonto to ensure the three points.
The win is massive for Forest in their bid to move clear of the bottom three and they are now six points above 18th-placed Everton and may now begin to look up rather than down after strengthening their squad last month.
Leeds are definitely looking over their shoulders as after a seventh game without a win they are out of the bottom three on goal difference alone, with two games against Manchester United coming up in the next seven days.
They will live to regret coming up against Navas in this form as they squandered good chances in the first half, but could not find that cutting edge in the second.
Forest enjoyed a busy end to the transfer window as they added three signings on deadline day and brought in Andre Ayew as a free agent two days later.
Highly decorated goalkeeper Navas was the only starter of those and immediately proved his calibre as he was forced into an early save.
Sinisterra darted into the penalty and flicked an effort towards goal but the former Real Madrid man got down well to keep it out.
Forest defender Neco Williams to BBC Sport: "What a debut [for Keylor Navas], massive, massive saves. He kept us in it and we're thankful for him.
"What a career he has had and what a career he is having. It's not easy making your Premier League debut against Leeds.
"The start of the season was tough, no one knew each other it was hard to get the chemistry on and off the pitch. Now we're gelling together and the results are coming."
Manchester United v Nottingham Forest ratings
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MANCHESTER UNITED RATINGS: Tom Heaton – 7. A rare, but deserved, start. Saved well from Johnson on 33 and Danilo later on. Clean sheet again. Valued member of Ten Hag’s squad. A positive energy giver in the dressing room, rather than taker. Getty -
Aaron Wan Bissaka – 7. With a 3-0 lead from the first leg, it wasn’t a great game, especially in a slow first half. United took time to go ahead, but the right-back’s link up with Antony was one of the brighter moments. AP -
Raphael Varane – 8. Surridge booked for a tackle on the Frenchman which annoyed United’s players and worried United fans in case he was injured. He’s a vital player and will be crucial for any United success this season. Getty -
Lisandro Martinez – 8. A defender who played like a midfielder. He’s going to Wembley and Manchester United have 12 straight wins at home, with 31 goals scored and 12 clean sheets. Fine alongside Varane. AP -
Luke Shaw – 6. Busy night (more touches than any player on the pitch) trying – and not always successfully – to deal with Johnson. He’ll enjoy his first trip to Wembley with United fans since 2018. Getty -
Bruno Fernandes – 8. Beautiful pass with the outside of his foot to Shaw after 15. Another wondrous pass before the second goal. Switched to the right, where he’d played so well in the Manchester derby, after an hour. Lively, driven. Man of the match. AFP -
Casemiro – 8. More advanced than usual. Headed the ball towards goal after 29 when he found himself in space. Missed Johnson as he created Forest’s best first half chance. Beautiful curling ball to Weghorst on 45. Headed wide on 65. Still the game’s central figure. Booked after a slip. AFP -
Fred – 7. Booked after a challenge on Scarpa. Scored again at the Stretford End – it is becoming a habit. Combines so well with Casemiro. AFP -
Antony – 7. Positive start, he’s playing better. Lovely moments of skill, striking the ball off a high bounce on 37. Forest defended well. Getty -
Wout Weghorst – 6. Won his headers but little service in the first half. Casemiro’s ball saw him glance the ball with a header against the post. Went down having been kicked by McKenna. Should have had a penalty. Getty -
Alejandro Garnacho – 6. Final ball lacking but he still excites when he gets the ball. Beat Williams and got a shot on the near post on 61. Numerous niggles with Johnson and Williams, who pulled him back. Getty -
SUBS: Marcus Rashford (Garnacho 62’) – 8. Appealed – wrongly – for a penalty. Set up the opening goal. And the second for Fred. His confidence, his sharpness, his awareness. Brilliant cameo. Getty -
Jadon Sancho (Antony 63’) – 6. On his first appearance since October. Went in the number 10 role behind Martial. AFP -
Anthony Martial (Weghorst 63’) – 7. On as the central striker, where he put United ahead in the game (and 4-0 on aggregate). Just what his confidence needed. Getty -
Victor Lindelof (Casemiro 80’) – N/A. Good to stretch his legs and help keep the momentum going. Reuters -
Harry Maguire (Varane 80’) – N/A. Would have liked to have started this one, but his manager is going to do it his way. AFP -
NOTTINGHAM FOREST RATINGS: Wayne Hennessey, 6 – Other than his positioning for the second goal, the Welshman played well with a handful of important saves. AP -
Renan Lodi, 6 – Solid positioning and heading couldn’t help prevent Forest from conceding twice. AP -
Willy Boly, 4 – After looking like a brick wall for the first half hour, Boly’s mistakes led to both United goals. AP -
Scott McKenna, 5 – Should have conceded a penalty to go alongside a mixed display that featured a good aerial presence and some bad marking. PA -
Neco Williams, 4 – Poor and never really came close to closing down, or eliminating, the pressure that United created. AFP -
Gustavo Scarpa, 6 – Got stuck in, activite throughout and tracked back well, even if his timing could do with some work. Getty -
Remo Freuler, 5 – The 30-year-old was overrun in the middle of the park and couldn’t stamp his authority on proceedings. Getty -
Orel Mangala, 6 – Played aggressively, met the ball really well on multiple occasions and made some nice interceptions. AP -
Emmanuel Dennis, 5 – Managed to cut inside well but given that he had to play a few different roles, did seem quite overwhelmed. AFP -
Sam Surridge, 4 – The forward blocked a shot from his teammate, picked up a silly yellow card and blazed a huge chance over the bar. Poor. Reuters -
Brennan Johnson, 5 – After squandering a golden opportunity in the first half, created some promising moments down the wing - but not enough. PA -
SUBS: Danilo (Freuler 64') 6 – Forced a good save but in general didn’t have enough urgency to impact. AFP -
Alex Mighten (Johnson 64') 6 – Barely made an impression with a performance that served as a learning experience. PA -
Serge Aurier (Lodi 65') 5 – Showed some weakness for the second goal after initially being quite alert. Getty -
Oliver Hammond (Scarpa 86') N/A – Got stuck in with a few challenges but otherwise couldn’t impact. Reuters -
Detlef Esapa Osong (Surridge 86') N/A – A short cameo. AFP
Forest took a while to get going but once they did they soon went ahead.
Morgan Gibbs-White sent in a free-kick from the right that went all the way through to Johnson at the far post and the Wales international lashed in a low drive from the edge of the area.
Despite having the advantage, Forest could not take control of the game and Leeds pushed for an equaliser.
They created two big chances within the space of five minutes but could not convert either.
First Sinisterra blazed over Gnonto’s ball back across goal from just six yards out and then Navas came to Forest’s rescue again with another good stop.
Gnonto got in down the left again and squared a ball to Patrick Bamford, who completely missed his kick, but it fell invitingly to Ayling at the far post. However Navas was equal to the shot and palmed it away.
The 36-year-old was being worked hard and he made another save on the stroke of half-time to deny Gnonto’s fierce shot.
Italy forward Gnonto was again causing trouble for Forest early in the second half, but it was the hosts who had a great chance to double their lead.
Gibbs-White sent Neco Williams through on goal but, after lacking the legs to race clear, he cut back on to his left foot and sent his effort clear of the crossbar.
For all of Leeds’ possession they were not creating much and instead it was Forest who were enjoying the better moments in front of goal.
A good chance to seal the win fell to substitute Sam Surridge with 12 minutes remaining, but he curled over from a good position inside the area after being fed by Gibbs-White.
Forest scorer Johnson said: "Leeds are really intensive and we knew they were going to make it hard for us but getting that first goal was vital.
"You can see that the whole team works hard, even in games where we might not have much of the ball. We didn't really look like conceding today. Hopefully, we can keep this going."
