Manchester City defeated Nottingham Forest 3-0 on Wednesday night, ending a four-match losing streak in the Premier League stretching back to October.
Kevin De Bruyne issued a quick reminder of his brilliance to English top-flight competition after returning to the starting line-up for Pep Guardiola. With a goal and an assist, the Belgian played a crucial role in scripting City’s confident win with a Man of the Match performance.
Bernardo Silva scored the opening goal for the hosts, and De Bruyne quickly doubled City’s lead. Jeremy Doku assisted the latter’s goal before scoring a third to cap off a huge win for the reigning champions, who picked up the three points for the first time since late October.
Nottingham Forest repeatedly threatened Manchester City’s defence, but fewer mishaps from the defenders – a huge concern during the recent losing streak – helped keep Nuno Santo’s attackers at bay.
Those who managed to get past the hosts’ defence could not get on the scoresheet for Forest, as Stefan Ortega Moreno blocked most of the shots he faced and maintained Manchester City’s clean sheet through to the final whistle.
Chris Wood missed a golden one-versus-one chance against the Manchester City goalkeeper, as Ortega stood vigilant, holding his ground every time he was tested in front of the goal to keep Forest at bay.
This was the second match in a row that the Germany international had started in place of Ederson and did well despite one moment when a long pass to Erling Haaland irked Pep Guardiola on the sidelines.
City are now fourth in the Premier League, having reduced the points gap to nine from the top after leaders Liverpool drew against Newcastle United. The reigning champions are also only two points behind Chelsea and Arsenal, who take second and third position, respectively.
Despite the win, Pep Guardiola admitted to several problems still pertaining to the team when speaking after the match. However, the Manchester City manager is glad to see his side emerge after suffering six losses in their last seven matches.
The Sky Blues’ return to the winning ways highlighted a few talking points, and below are the Five Things We Learned from Manchester City’s 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest, and the end of their seven-game winless run across competitions.
Kevin De Bruyne takes the stage
The Belgian international’s presence had turned the game when Manchester City took on Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium two weeks ago. Yesterday, he walked out with the captain’s armband to start the match against Nottingham Forest and ran the show.
In little over half an hour since the first whistle, Kevin De Bruyne had set up Manchester City’s opening goal before netting a second himself, putting the Sky Blues into a controlling position at the half-time interval.
Receiving the ball from Josko Gvardiol’s sublime pass and heading it into the path of Bernardo Silva for a simple tap-in, De Bruyne would score himself from Jeremy Doku’s bright work cutting inside from the left.
The Belgian playmaker created four chances alone, the most by any Manchester City player on the pitch on Wednesday night, and inspired a much-needed victory to end a 40-day winless streak across competitions for the reigning champions.
Is Jack Grealish the key to a turnaround?
Pep Guardiola had hinted at playing Jack Grealish in the midfield ahead of the game, and the Englishman fortunately started centrally with Ilkay Gundogan to his right to significantly improve City’s structure.
Grealish played a key role in ball retention and helped the defensive line, even providing a colossal block to prevent a Nottingham Forest goal at one stage. Not to forget, he massively helped Ilkay Gundogan, often dropping deep to hold the midfield during transitions.
When moving forward, Grealish drifted towards the centre and made promising runs with the ball at his feet. A slightly better finish would have also made him a huge threat in front of the goal.
Most importantly however, he linked up exceptionally with Jeremy Doku, having played the latter’s position regularly. This allowed the duo to repeatedly stretch the opponents’ defence while De Bruyne gained more room to move freely near the edge of the box.
Jeremy Doku flies on the wing
Like Kevin De Bruyne, the Manchester City winger bagged an assist before scoring a goal to round up a win in the club’s latest outing. He looked sharped against Liverpool last weekend and put up a better performance against Nottingham Forest in front of the home crowd.
Supported by Jack Grealish and Kevin De Bruyne from their respective midfield roles, Doku boldly led attacks from the left and earned his name on the scoresheet, courtesy of improved finishing and a sharp spot from Erling Haaland to set the winger free.
Doku’s goal came from Haaland’s assist, finally giving Pep Guardiola glimpses of the required contribution from each Manchester City forward in front of the goal – an issue throughout the season highlighted by the Norwegian’s dominant position as leading goalscorer.
Josko Gvardiol also played a key role in helping Doku’s forward runs, with the duo pairing well to use overlapping runs along the left. With more dependable attacking options, the Catalan can craft more non-Haaland-centric game-plans to help combat the lack of goals.
A potential blow to the Manchester City defence
City’s injury woes are far from over, with Nathan Ake picking up a muscular knock in the fixture against Nottingham Forest. The Dutch International, who battled hamstring issues earlier in the season, appeared to suffer the same injury late in the second half.
Pep Guardiola’s comments on Nathan Ake after the match at the Etihad Stadium raised concerns, with the Manchester City manager confirming that it ‘isn’t looking good’ for the Netherlands defender.
While no other details are available on the nature of Ake’s injury at this time, the Dutchman is expected to be on the sidelines for a few weeks, after the City defence had only just recovered from other problems.
Now, with John Stones and potentially Manual Akanji’s injury too, the City manager could be forced to find a solution that inadvertently brings Kyle Walker back in. The captain’s performance was unlike the poor showings in recent weeks and, hopefully, it will be sustained.
Josko Gvardiol and Ilkay Gundogan under scrutiny
Manchester City’s latest victory etched an evening of positives for the team. While the strengths of the Blues were on full display, an inspired turnaround in fortune could still fall victim to a few nagging problems that went under the radar.
Josko Gvardiol, for all his incredible contributions in attack, had a few nervy moments at the back. There were times when Nottingham Forest attackers could pinch the ball off the Croatian, forcing him to make risky defensive runs.
Ilkay Gundogan, who also looked more comfortable in attack, struggled and lost the ball on more than one occasion. The latter had one of his better performances since he had to play the central defensive role, but Manchester City could have easily been punished for his mistakes.
It would be a massive ask for Guardiola’s men to fix every glaring issue with their individual performances after the recent run, and instead a more gradual, consistent improvement could prove to be more likely as the team finds its rhythm.
The season is long, and Liverpool dropping points against Newcastle United on the same evening is bound to spark discourse over a comeback in the Premier League title race. However for City, sustaining momentum from their first win in seven matches remains top priority.