Nottingham Forest head coach Nuno Espirito Santo cut a relatively upbeat figure when he faced the media post-match at the Etihad Stadium.
And perhaps that says much about where the Reds are right now. Taking on Manchester City, regardless of their form going into Wednesday night’s clash, was never going to be a decisive fixture in Forest’s season - and the same applies on the back of a 3-0 defeat.
For Nuno, there were positives to take from the midweek test. His team showed intent at times and created chances.
But the Reds also showed their opponents too much respect in some moments - and it follows that they will learn lessons from it, too. Below, we take a look at some of the big talking points from the game.
Showing intent
Nuno set up his side to have a go at City. Rather than adopt the approach that had worked away to Liverpool in September, he stuck with his usual 4-2-3-1 formation and didn’t scrimp on attacking intent.
Anthony Elanga and Jota Silva started out wide with the aim of using pace and direct running to get at City. Morgan Gibbs-White and Chris Wood completed the set-up at the top end of the pitch, with Nicolas Dominguez deployed alongside Ryan Yates in midfield.
Forest did have a fair few positive moments. They forged good opportunities - they just couldn’t take one of them.
The best fell to Chris Wood just before the half-hour mark when it was still 1-0. Given the form the New Zealand international has been in, he would have been odds-on to put the ball in the back of the net when he found himself clean through. Instead, he was with his head in his hands as his effort rolled narrowly wide.
It was a rare miss for Wood. He has been so good at taking his chances this term. That City immediately went down the opposite end and made it 2-0 meant it proved to be a turning point in the game.
But Wood wasn’t the only one to spurn a chance. Forest had emerged for the second half looking positive, and had a fierce strike from Murillo gone in it would have made things interesting. Even when it became 3-0, the visitors caused problems.
In previous visits to the Etihad, the Reds haven’t had many such moments. They didn’t when they lost 3-0 at Arsenal a couple of weeks ago either. Nuno saw it as reason for encouragement.
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Sloppy goals
Defence has been a strength for Forest this season. A solid back line has been the foundations on which Nuno has built upon.
It was too easy for City’s first two goals on Wednesday night, though. Runners were not tracked and marking was slack. Nuno has spoken before about the dangers of affording high-class opponents too much time and space with the ball, and his team were punished for doing just that.
Goalkeeper Matz Sels could do little about the goals. He needed more help from those in front of him.
It wasn’t just about the defence, either. Defending is a team effort, and Forest’s back line needed more assistance from their midfield and attacking teammates.
After defeat to Arsenal last month had made it six goals conceded in the space of two games, Nuno declared he was “worried” over such leakiness. There wasn’t such cause for alarm this time, but the Portuguese will know some things need to be tightened up on.
Showing respect
Trying to get something from places like the Emirates requires playing with belief. Teams have to believe they can get something against City.
It would be wrong to suggest Forest didn’t have that. But they did show the hosts too much respect in the opening stages of the game, and then they were left with an uphill battle. "After that it was a big punch in our stomach and a mountain to climb,” Nuno said when he reflected on Wood’s miss and going 2-0 down soon afterwards.
The win at Liverpool in September and the draw at Chelsea in October have perhaps raised expectations when it comes to Forest’s chances of getting results away from home. There is no doubt Nuno’s side are capable of competing against the top teams and are equally capable of picking up big results.
They are not yet at the level of doing so consistently, though. Wednesday night showed they still have road to travel to get to that stage.
Looking forward
The Reds are still sixth in the table. They can still have a very good season and they have still made great progress.
This was always going to be a tough period for Nuno’s men with the way the fixture list panned out. But three defeats in four - given the class of opposition - is no cause for panic.
Next up is a return to Manchester on Saturday for a meeting with United. If Forest can show a similar level of intent but sharpen up in both boxes, there is no reason why they cannot get something from that game.
Wednesday night was not their best showing, but it was different to the loss at the Emirates. And it was an improvement on previous visits to Pep Guardiola’s team.
Progress over the course of the campaign is not going to be linear. It will be made up of ups and downs, big steps and small steps. In defeat, Nuno will have learned lessons as well as had positives to reflect on.
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