Manchester City finally ended their unbeaten run with a comfortable victory against Nottingham Forest.
Bernardo Silva, Kevin de Bruyne and Jeremy Doku scored the goals in a game where we saw a much improved City side take to the field.
They had gone seven games without a victory after their recent 2-0 loss at the hands of Liverpool, but three points against Forest and the Reds’ slip up against Newcastle United means City have closed the gap down to nine points behind the leaders.
Here are three things we learned from the win against Forest:
De Bruyne is back
Manchester City FC v Nottingham Forest FC - Premier League Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images
The Belgian has reminded the football world that he remains a special, special player.
De Bruyne started his first match for City in two and a half months, so it was expected that he’d be rusty as he has been in his last few substitute appearances from the bench.
But from the first minute up until when he was substituted off, the 33 year old was the best player on the pitch, and left his mark on the game with a goal and an assist.
His powerful header at the far post may well have made it in by itself, but Bernardo was there to tap in to give City an early lead.
De Bruyne then finished in trademark clinical fashion for City’s second after brilliant work from Doku and continued to dominate the game after this point.
He had plenty of touches in and around the penalty area and was a thorn in the side of the team from the Midlands for the entire game.
He can’t play every minute of every game, but if De Bruyne can keep himself fit enough to start most games City will be a much better side with him in it.
Gundogan-De Bruyne-Grealish midfield is the way forward
Manchester City FC v Nottingham Forest FC - Premier League Photo by Ed Sykes/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images
De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Jack Grealish all enjoyed their best performances of the season so far in what appeared to be a well balanced midfield.
Gundogan looked sharper and fitter; despite having a few lapse moments on the ball, he looked solid in the middle and did his defensive duties well.
De Bruyne was direct and dangerous, whilst Grealish floated around midfield in an all action display, contributing heavily both in and out of possession.
City’s number ten in particular was good at defending transitions by sweeping up quickly and he even contributed in deeper positions too, with a brilliant sliding block in the first half preventing a Forest effort at goal.
Not only should Grealish keep his place in the centre at the weekend, but it’s imperative he’s fielded along with Gundogan and De Bruyne in order to keep up form and momentum.
Opportunity for City to build some form
Manchester City FC v Nottingham Forest FC - Premier League Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images
City are back doing the thing they’re most familiar with - winning.
They thoroughly deserved their three points against Forest and it was much more like a Guardiola performance in terms of defending and attacking.
As mentioned earlier, the midfield balance was just right, and the performance of the back four of Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake and Josko Gvardiol was as good as we’ve seen all season (although the apparent injuries to Akanji and Ake are gutting and will weaken the backline.)
Kyle Walker played well off the bench and most certainly didn’t look out of his depth, whilst Rico Lewis got a few good minutes off the bench too,
The Blues face Crystal Palace this weekend, and another win and convincing performance would help City close the gap on Liverpool and challenge for a fifth consecutive Premier League title.