Kevin De Bruyne impressed on his return to the starting line-up with a goal and assist as City got back to winning ways with a resounding 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest.
Forest will have headed to the Etihad smelling blood after the Blues had gone seven games without a win - but it was Pep Guardiola’s men who showed a killer instinct.
First half goals from Bernardo Silva and captain KDB alongside a brilliant individual effort from Jeremy Doku after the break sent City fans home very happy.
WHAT HAPPENED
City started this game with poise and panache and certainly didn’t look like a team short of confidence after seven winless matches.
The sight of Kevin De Bruyne – and indeed Jack Grealish with Jeremy Doku – in the starting line-up raised hopes of a renaissance in form.
And the performance in the early stages was exemplary as the Blues came out of the traps fizzing with desire and determination.
Nicky Weaver said in the City TV pre-match show that Erling Haaland would be ‘salivating with excitement’ at the return of KDB – and the combination clicked into gear on five minutes.
Bernardo Silva played a neat pass into De Bruyne down the right flank and our captain produced a clever cutback to our Norwegian No.9 but his rapid right foot shot was well saved by the alert Matz Sels.
That was the starter to the main course as the Blues turned on the style.
Ilkay Gundogan, cleverly found by Josko Gvardiol, chipped the ball to De Bruyne at the far post and he headed it goalwards, with Bernardo getting a final touch on the line to open the scoring on eight minutes.
There was more quality play to come as Pep Guardiola’s men looked to double the lead.
KDB and Bernardo – running the show in the middle of the park – combined for a sumptuous one-two on 15 minutes with the Portuguese then producing a pinpoint cross into the box. Gvardiol met the ball perfectly but somehow it flew wide.
The 22-year-old Croatian had a second opportunity to add to the scoreline on 21 minutes as he ran in to meet a Haaland throughball but unfortunately he fired past the post when well placed.
In between times, our visitors Forest could have had a leveller on 17 minutes but for the reflexes of Stefan Ortega Moreno who dove low to his right to keep out a fierce Morgan Gibbs-White strike from just inside the area.
And just shy of the half hour mark, Chris Wood somehow missed the target when in on goal as the Etihad held its breath following a loose ball from De Bruyne.
There were collective sighs of relief among the home faithful and moments later, the 33-year-old more than made up for that mistake as he struck a sumptuous drive into the top corner after clever wing play from Jeremy Doku set him up.
It wasn’t one-way traffic, though, with Forest looking dangerous on the attack, Jack Grealish showing impressive defensive capabilities to block Alex Moreno’s goalbound effort on 41 minutes.
As the second half started, there was a feeling that the next goal was vital - and it was City who bagged it.
What a stunning goal it was, too, from wing wonder Doku.
The Belgian charged at the Forest backline on 57 minutes before letting fly with an unstoppable strike that gave us the cushion we wanted.
City were still hungry for more and KDB nearly had his second and the team’s fourth on 64 minutes but for the agility of Sels who got down low to claw away a swerving drive from close-range.
Jack Grealish, immaculate in the middle of the park throughout, tried to slide the ball under Sels on 73 minutes after a one-two with Haaland but the goalkeeper did well to keep it out.
De Bruyne received a wonderful ovation from an appreciative Etihad crowd soon after as he was replaced by Rico Lewis and there was a warm hug from the manager as the classy midfielder made his way to the bench for a well-earned rest.
Doku could - and maybe should - have added to the scoreline in the closing stages as he, again, raced in on goal before firing high and handsome while Haaland’s cheeky, clever chip at the death also went over.
But it mattered not as the Blues cruised to all three points as the final whistle blew.
TEAMS
CITY XI: Ortega, Akanji (Walker 46’), Dias, Ake (McAtee 90’), Gvardiol, Gundogan, De Bruyne (C) (Lewis 74’), Bernardo, Doku (Savinho 90’), Grealish (Nunes 90’), Haaland
Subs:Ederson, Carson, Wright, O’Reilly
NOTTINGHAM FOREST XI: Sels, Aina (Moreira 63’), Milenkovic, Murillo, Moreno, Yates (C) (Morato 46’), Dominguez, Gibbs-White (Anderson 63’), Elanga, Jota, Wood (Awoniyi 62’)
Subs: Miguel, Williams, Hudson-Odoi, Da Silva, Ward-Prowse, Sosa
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: KEVIN DE BRUYNE
Kevin De Bruyne is aging like a fine wine!
Pep Guardiola said in his pre-match press conference that he’d love to have ‘prime’ KDB in his squad.
In life, sadly you can’t turn back the clock but the brilliant Belgian showed he’s still one of the best attacking midfielders in the business with a calm, composed and class display in this victory over Forest.
You could sense delight around the stadium when his name made it onto the teamsheet ahead of the game against the in-form East Midlands side.
And that excitement was justified as he set up Bernardo Silva for the first goal and scored the second in a stunning performance from Manchester City royalty.
MANAGER VERDICT
Tune in shortly for the post-match thoughts of Pep Guardiola.
PLAYER REACTION
There’ll be the thoughts of a first team player available to read here soon.
WHAT IT MEANS
City move up a place into fourth spot in the Premier League.
The result also puts an end to our seven-game winless run.
WHAT NEXT
City travel to the capital to face Crystal Palace on Saturday.
It’s a 15:00 (UK) kick-off at Selhurst Park against Oliver Glasner’s Eagles.
Due to the date and kick-off time, there’ll be a TV blackout in the UK meaning the best place to follow all the action is on Matchday Live, which can be accessed right here via mancity.com and our official app.