Nottingham Forest winger Anthony Elanga haunted former side Manchester United after racing up the pitch in the first half to score the only goal in the 1-0 victory at the City Ground.
The ex-United winger flooded forward from his own penalty area in the fifth minute, covering 85m in the space of just nine seconds, to lash home the opener.
Forest had won just one of their last five games in the Nuno Espirito Santo era without Chris Wood, who was sidelined for his second game due to a hip injury, but any early fears of missing the forward were addressed by their Sweden international.
The win marked the first league double over United for the Tricky Trees since 1992 when legendary boss Brian Clough was still in charge of the club.
Ruben Amorim’s side dominated the ball at 68 per cent possession but offered little in the final third until Murillo was called into action with virtually the last kick of the game to clear Harry Maguire’s poked effort off the line.
The bubble of momentum they were building – after winning back-to-back games before the international break – has now been pierced by another defiant performance from third-placed Forest, who now stretch the gap to eight points on Chelsea in fourth.
Although, their evening was slightly marred by an injury to defender Ola Aina, who limped off the field in the first half with a calf problem.
Meanwhile, United continue to linger in 13th and full attention will now turn to the Manchester derby, live on Sky Sports, this Sunday. Bragging rights are one of the few positives they can salvage from their uninspiring top-flight campaign.
Sunday 6th April 4:00pm
Kick off 4:30pm
‘Gritty win epitomises Forest’
Sky Sports’ Lewis Jones:
“That performance epitomised this Nottingham Forest team. Score first through a clinical counter-attack and then keep a clean sheet. They are fantastically organised.
At the City Ground they’ve shipped just 10 goals in their 15 Premier League home matches this season now – that’s the best home record of any team. They’ve kept eight sheets during that run, too, winning to nil against Man City, Brighton, Tottenham, Ipswich, West Ham, Crystal Palace and Manchester United.
“Those that followed me in on my best bet through my prediction column at 100/30 for a Forest win to nil will be happy tonight.”