Nottingham Forest ended their five-match winless Premier League run in style as they beat Manchester City 3-1 at the City Ground, inflicting a third successive league defeat on the visitors and denying them the chance to record consecutive top-flight away wins over Forest for the first time since 1925.
City’s Premier League campaign has been crumbling around them in recent weeks, and their negative spiral continued in the early stages here too.
Josko Gvardiol had his pocket picked by Jair Cunha 25 yards from goal, and the Brazilian centre-half confidently strode forward into the area before rolling a left-footed effort into the bottom corner, scoring what was remarkably Forest’s first home league goal of the season.
Oliver Glasner’s men didn’t have to wait too much longer for number two, though, netting a stunning goal on the counter through Liam Delap, who burst through the heart of the City defence and rifled past Gianluigi Donnarumma to leave his former club with a mountain to climb.
Jeremy Doku manufactured a great chance to get the visitors back into the game when he floated an inch-perfect cross to the back post for Enzo Fernandez, but the Argentine powered a header over from eight yards out.
An even bigger chance presented itself to the ever-reliable Erling Haaland, and although he did everything right himself in rounding Matz Sels in the Forest goal, his goalbound strike was cleared off the line by Cunha, who ultimately made telling contributions at both ends of the pitch in the first half.
Enzo Maresca made a double change at the break in a desperate attempt to change the flow of the game, and his decision paid immediate dividends.
Neither of the substitutes were directly involved, but two of their key stars were, as Doku’s cutback found Rayan Cherki on the edge of the area and the Frenchman drove a left-footed half-volley into the roof of the net.
A complete freak incident almost reestablished the hosts’ two-goal cushion when Ryan Yates’ deflected effort looped up and over Donnarumma, but it dropped onto the crossbar.
A matter of minutes later though, Forest did get their third goal, and it was another swift counter-attack rounded off by Delap, who powered down the left and fired a stunning effort in off the far post.
City’s response was muted at best, and they slumped to another defeat as a result, one which handed yet more initiative to Arsenal in the title race given their victory earlier in the day.
Forest, meanwhile, climbed out of the bottom three thanks to three huge points.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Liam Delap (Nottingham Forest)
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