Manchester United lost for the 14th time this season at Nottingham Forest by 2-1 in the English Premier League on Saturday.
Morgan Gibbs-White scored an 82nd-minute winner at the City Ground.
United went behind initially to Nicolas Dominguez’s opener in the 64th and leveled through Marcus Rashford in the 78th.
But that good work was undone when Forest counterattacked and Gibbs-White found the back of the net from the edge of the box.
United has lost nine of its 20 league games and has not won its last four away from home. It was seventh on the table.
It won against Aston Villa on Tuesday but the latest defeat typified the inconsistency of Ten Hag’s team.
United has already been knocked out of the Champions League and League Cup and is in a battle to secure a top-four finish in the top-flight. It is nine points off fourth-placed Arsenal, and played one game more.
Forest, meanwhile, has quickly found form under new manager Nuno Espírito Santo, who has led the team to back-to-back wins against Newcastle and United over the Christmas holidays.
Forest is up to 15th and five points above the relegation zone.
City end year at 3rd
Manchester City beat Sheffield United 2-0 and moved to within two points of English Premier League leader Liverpool on Saturday.
Goals from Rodri and Julian Alvarez at Etihad Stadium secured a comfortable win for the defending champions against the bottom-placed team.
Third-placed City moved ahead of Arsenal on goal difference and was behind Liverpool and Aston Villa. Villa was second on goal difference after beating Burnley 3-2.
While City has looked below its best at times this season, it has been able to stay in reach of the leaders. And with Kevin De Bruyne returning from a hamstring injury, manager Pep Guardiola can hope for improved performances in the new year.
They ended 2023 with back-to-back league wins after returning from Saudi Arabia and success in the Club World Cup last week. All five trophies won over the past 12 months — the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, European Super Cup and Club World Cup — were on show ahead of kickoff against Sheffield United.