Nottingham Forest vs Man City LIVE: Premier League result and reaction after Haaland scores in victory
City remain favourites for the title while the Reds are still battling against relegation
Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for free
Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter
Manchester City will seek to keep the pressure on Arsenal in the Premier League title race when they head to Nottingham Forest on Sunday evening - and could indeed jump above the Gunners, depending on their result earlier on against Tottenham.
With Liverpool having fallen away badly in the past few weeks, it’s now very much just a two-horse race in the final stretch, with City aiming to retain their title yet again. They are in fact in the hunt for the domestic double, given they will face Man United in the FA Cup final, too.
As for Forest, it’s still all about survival and they need to focus on their football after a week of berating officials for costing them points. The fact remains that Nuno’s side are one place above the relegation zone and only a point clear of Luton - but maybe more worrisome, two points clear of Burnley who are the more in-form side.
Follow the live action below and see the Nottingham Forest vs Man City prediction and odds here.
Kevin de Bruyne’s latest double act makes Man City the unconvincing unstoppables
On such days, Manchester City may be the unconvincing unstoppables. This was scarcely the most glorious demonstration of Pep Guardiola’s philosophy but churn or grind out four more wins and they will have a fourth consecutive Premier League title, regardless of what Arsenal do.
Weakened by injury and illness, put under pressure by Nottingham Forest, below par with their passing, City still prevailed. It may have been the result of champions. It is harder to claim it was the performance of them. But City had Kevin de Bruyne and Erling Haaland, one the best player on the pitch, the other a scoring substitute, and a little fortune.
And if Forest have a latest set of grievances, it should be with themselves. Condemned to defeat by their failings in both boxes, by their latest piece of disastrous defending at a set-piece and by an inability to take presentable chances, they could reflect on what might have been.
This was a reminder that their fate rests in their own hands, regardless of their agenda with officials and the Premier League.
De Bruyne’s latest double act makes Man City the unconvincing unstoppables
Nottingham Forest 0-2 Manchester City: Josko Gvardiol and Erling Haaland score to keep title fight on track
Ederson injury leaves Man City fearing goalkeeper could miss Premier League and FA Cup double chase
Manchester City are waiting to see if Ederson is out for the rest of the season and will have to sit out their pursuit of the double after suffering a shoulder injury in the 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest.
The goalkeeper, who was substituted at half-time after being hurt in a collision with Forest defender Willy Boly, left the City Ground with his arm in a sling.
“It doesn’t look good,” admitted manager Pep Guardiola. “We see tomorrow with the doctor.”
Ederson injury leaves Man City fearing goalkeeper could miss double chase
The Brazil goalkeeper left the City Ground with his arm in a sling
Forest 0-2 Man City - LIVE
Nuno Espirito Santo is last to speak to Sky.
“I think we played a good game. We had chances, we did a good job regarding how hard it is to play against Manchester City.
“With this attitude, we’re going to achieve what we want.
“We are disappointed with the result, the encouragement comes from the way we work, how committed we are, and what we have ahead of us. This is more important. We stay positive and we go for the next three games.”
Regarding the playing surface potentially playing a role in the result, he says he “doesn’t know”.
“We are disappointed with the result. We [need to] stay positive. I think we are working very hard, but it’s important that we keep producing, because the final touch will come.”
Forest 0-2 Man City - LIVE
Guardiola is next to speak to Sky, and he says that Forest had “a lot of quality”.
“It was a difficult game, they played with bravery. They have fast players with a lot of quality so we found a goal in the moment when it was 10 against 11.
“It is a great victory as we had a lot of games behind us. Now we have a long week to recover.”
He adds that “the game changed when Bernardo [Silva] came inside and made a lot of passes.
“It was difficult because the opponents were so tough, aggressive. These game are so, so difficult at this stage.”
On the half-time changes, he says that Ederson is injured, and Kovacic was brought on for “the extra passes that we need”.
Asked about Arsenal and Liverpool, he says “everything can happen”.
“What happened to Liverpool can happen to us, can happen to Arsenal.
“It’s just, now, we have time to prepare for the finals that we have and the FA Cup final.”
Forest 0-2 Man City - LIVE
Roy Keane expects City to win the title from here, saying that Guardiola’s side “will win all the rest of their matches now”.
“It’s all about getting results at this stage of the season. Pep, given the standards he sets, will certainly be concerned with the chances they gave up in the first half, but they had a lot more control in the second half.
“It’s the same old story with City, even when they are not at their best.
“They know how to win football matches, they have good options off the bench, and they have got into a really good habit of winning matches in recent years.”
Forest 0-2 Man City - LIVE
Haaland and Gvardiol are speaking to Sky.
Gvardiol says that he “found himself in a good position” for his goal, while Haaland calls it “an important win”.
“It doesn’t matter how we do it, it’s about winning. We knew it was going to be a fight, but we can’t complain, it’s about winning and that’s exactly what we did.”
Asked if the Arsenal result was in the back of their minds, Gvardiol replies that they “need to be focused”, and will be playing “four more finals”.
“If you overthink, you’ll go crazy,” adds Haaland.
“Relax, enjoy and focus on the next one.”
Forest 0-2 Man City - LIVE
FULL-TIME! The referee blows the whistle and City remain firmly in the driving seat for a fourth successive title.
For Forest, it’s a day of nearly opportunities. Chris Wood will be going to bed with regrets, that’s for sure.
For the away side, attention turns to next week’s home game against Wolves as they continue to hunt down Arsenal at the top of the table.
Forest 0-2 Man City - LIVE
94 mins: Bobb wins the ball in the Forest half, and the ball is threaded through to Haaland, who almost squeezes it past Sels.
Forest 0-2 Man City - LIVE
92 mins: Forest win a free-kick and Reyna delivers once more, but Walker cushions it back to Ortega.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies