Anthony Elanga turns into 'prime Lionel Messi' as 'finished club' Man Utd are haunted by former winger in trip to Nottingham Forest

During Tuesday's Premier League encounter, Elanga won the ball in his own half after a United corner was headed clear. The Swedish forward pounced on the loose ball and initiated a counter attack at electric speed. He shrugged off Alejandro Garnacho on his way to the penalty box before slotting the ball home past Andre Onana with a low shot in the fifth minute of the match. There were only 16 seconds between the United corner and Elanga's goal.

Fans were quick to draw comparisons between Elanga and 'prime' Messi as they labelled Ruben Amorim's side as a 'finished' club.

An X user named Elochukwu wrote: "Only Man Utd can make Elanga look like prime Messi. Finished club."

Another fan, with the name OmoAWE Aded’eji wrote: "Elanga playing like prime Messi. You can’t write this scripts."

Casey Evans mocked United for selling Elanga and purchasing Antony for a much higher price. The post read: "Sold Elanga for £10m to buy Antony for £85m."

Luke wrote: "United fans think Garnacho is anywhere near Elanga"

A Chelsea fan with the name Conn wrote: "Elanga dunking on his former club Manchester United. Just beautiful."

If Nuno Espirito Santo's side manage to hold on to their lead and secure all three points from the match, they will take a step forward towards securing a Champions League berth for next season.

After Tuesday's match at Forest, Red Devils will next face rivals Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday at Old Trafford.