Rayan Cherki emerged as the hero for Manchester City once again, scoring a late goal to secure all three points at the City Ground. Pep Guardiola's team suffered a defeat at Nottingham Forest last season and the hosts were hoping for a repeat performance after managing to equalise in the second half.
The first half was a hard-fought affair with few opportunities created by either side, but it was the Blues who broke the deadlock when Cherki set up Tijjani Reijnders, who finished with aplomb. However, Omari Hutchinson restored parity for Sean Dyche's side, much to the delight of the home supporters. Cherki, however, had other plans and played the role of party spoiler, firing a superb shot through a crowd from a corner to find the back of the net and secure a crucial victory for City. Here are the player ratings from Express Sport...
Donnarumma: Held his own physically from set-pieces but there was a weak punch in there that could have been ugly. 6.
Nunes: Found plenty of space to exploit in the first half, although Hudson-Odoi was more than happy to run at him for much of the second half. 6.
Dias: Had a bit of luck while already on a yellow card but remained aggressive to keep Forest at bay. 7.
Gvardiol: Had a tough time dealing with Jesus but coped well with the physical challenge and also performed admirably going forward. 8.
O'Reilly: Struggled in the second half against the lively Hutchinson and seemed unusually out of sync with Foden. 5.
Gonzalez: Fortunate not to receive a yellow card in the first half and appeared to tire as the match progressed. 6.
Silva: Orchestrated much of the play and maintained City's focus in the game's final stages. 7.
Foden: Guilty of a few misplaced touches in the first half, had his moments but not as many as he or the team would have liked. 7.
Reijnders: Superb run and finish for the opening goal, becoming increasingly reliable in front of goal. 7.
Cherki: Once again the City player who looked most likely to create something, providing a tidy assist for Reijnders before his impressive late strike. 9.
Haaland: Put in a good shift, tried to get involved as much as possible, although whenever he found any space to shoot, his path was invariably blocked. 6.
Substitutes
Savinho (for Reijnders, 72) Made a positive contribution. 6.
Ake (for Cherki, 88) Barely had time to make an impact. N/A.
Unused substitutes: Trafford, Khusanov, Lewis, Rodri, McAidoo, Heskey, Mukasa.