Nottingham Forest gave Manchester City a very tough time at Etihad Stadium but the reigning Premier League champions managed to hold on to a slim victory.
As expected, coach Pep Guardiola and his boys started like a house on fire in the first half and took their chances as they came.
Before things got too intense for City, Phil Foden gifted the home side the lead in the 7th minute after taking advantage of Kyle Walker’s assist.
The usual suspect, Erling Haaland, got his name on the scoresheet in the 14th minute when Portuguese left-back Nuno Tavares gave the ball away as Matheus Nunes accepted a pass from Foden and then lifted the ball for Haaland to head home the match-winner.
When spectators thought they were in for a goal rush from coach Pep Guardiola and his boys, the first half ended with the two early goals.
In the second half, both Manchester City and Nottingham Forest whose striker, Taiwo Awoniyi was yellow carded and almost fought with City’s goalkeeper, Ederson, couldn’t record any goal.
The Nigerian striker struggled in the game and had to be substituted in the 75th minute as he couldn’t add to his three Premier League goals tally.
The biggest highlight of the second half was when Rodri and Nottingham Forest’s Gibbs-White clashed in the corner, and the City midfielder appeared to grab at his throat, sending the Forest man tumbling to the turf.
Rodri was shown a straight red card for the incident in the 46th minute but didn’t leave the pitch until the VAR confirmed the red card in the 48th minute.
The 2-0 win was enough for Manchester City to retain the first spot in the Premier League table with 18 points in 6 games. On the other hand, the defeat has dropped Nottingham Forest to the 10th spot with 7 points in 6 games pending the outcome of other games.
Other Results
Two goals were recorded in the other two Premier League games played simultaneously with that of Manchester City vs. Nottingham Forest.
Crystal Palace held Fulham to a 0-0 draw at the Selhurst Park Stadium. While newly promoted Luton Town drew 1-1 with Wolves who played with a man down from the 39th minute, thanks to Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s red card.
