"You might call it clever, I call it cheating" – Chris Sutton flames Manchester United attacker for what he did against Nottingham Forest

Ex-Chelsea and Blackburn Rovers striker Chris Sutton has lambasted Manchester United star Marcus Rashford for allegedly diving in his team's 3-2 Premier League home win against Nottingham Forest.

The Red Devils registered a comeback victory against Steve Cooper's side at Old Trafford on Saturday (August 26). After going two down inside four minutes, they managed to score three back-to-back goals.

Taiwo Awoniyi and Willy Boly bagged a goal each early on before Christian Eriksen cut the visitors' lead short in the 17th minute. Casemiro scored the equalizer, while Bruno Fernandes scored a penalty in the 76th minute after Rashford was adjudged to be fouled by Danilo.

In his column for the Daily Mail, Sutton claimed that Manchester United were lucky to be awarded a crucial penalty this weekend. He wrote:

"It is easy to see why some opponents can feel there is a 'big club bias'. Decisions tended to go United's way in my day and they still do, especially at Old Trafford. Just look at their 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest on Saturday. Marcus Rashford dropped down under minimal pressure from Danilo. You might call it clever. I call it cheating."

Suggesting that the Manchester United man dived, Sutton concluded:

"Rashford dived, referee Stuart Attwell fell for it, VAR Robert Jones did not intervene, Bruno Fernandes scored and Forest lost. Had this been the other way around, would the visitors have been awarded a penalty? Steve Cooper does not seem to think so. When a United player drops down in the box, the threshold for a penalty never seems to be as high as it is for their opponents."

Apart from awarding Erik ten Hag's side a spot-kick, Stuart Attwell also brandished a red card to Nottingham Forest's Joe Worrall in the second half. He was a crucial talking point in most post-game discussions over the weekend due to his influential decisions in Manchester.

Manchester United off to an unsteady start

Manchester United have opened their 2023-24 season on an underwhelming note so far. They have eked out two narrow wins over Wolverhampton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford, while slumping to a 2-0 away loss at Tottenham Hotspur on August 19.

The Red Devils were also a major point of controversy in the opening weekend as Wolves were denied a late penalty in their 1-0 loss. Andre Onana's heavy contact with Sasa Kalajdzic in the final stages was considered not to be a foul by Premier League's VAR officials.

Manchester United, who are currently on six points from three games, are next set to face last season's runners-up Arsenal on Sunday (September 3) at the Emirates Stadium.