Manchester City Finally Comes Alive! Guardiola's Horrible Streak is Broken in Style

Nottingham Forest Gets Fully Dealt With. Has the Champion Returned to the Race?

Manchester City has ended its dreadful run of failures! There is a first victory in the Premier League after five matches. Pep Guardiola’s team comfortably defeated Nottingham Forest at home. And this time, they didn’t let the game slip after a 3-0 lead.

Considering Manchester City's lineup before the match against Nottingham Forest, it's hard to imagine a scenario where they would drop points. But that’s under normal circumstances. The team's current form doesn’t inspire much confidence, even when almost the most potent 11 players are on the field. It's a nervous time for City fans. However, in the match against Nottingham, the team quickly showed that they planned to end their nightmare. In his entire coaching career, this was the longest winless streak Pep Guardiola had ever experienced (seven matches).

Fortunately for City, the unwanted record didn’t grow. From the very first minutes, the team put pressure on their opponents. Just eight minutes into the game, Bernardo Silva opened the scoring. The hosts played a nice combination: Gundogan passed to De Bruyne, Kevin headed the ball, and the Portuguese finished it off from close range into the net. It was as if the past nightmare month never existed — it looked so easy.

City didn’t take a step back after the first goal. This was a good sign that morale within the team wasn’t as bad as it seemed. However, Nottingham Forest had a couple of chances to equalize and spoil the mood. For example, Morgan Gibbs-White had a dangerous shot saved by Stefan Ortega.

There were plenty of chances for Manchester City as well. Josko Gvardiol missed the best opportunity. The defender likes to join the attack: this time, he found an open space, ran into it, and went one-on-one with goalkeeper Matt Sels. But Josko needed more finishing skills. His shot was awful.

However, in the 31st minute, everything worked out for De Bruyne. One of City’s most experienced players doubled the lead. Kevin received a pass from Doku, controlled the ball, assessed the situation, and powerfully shot into the corner of Nottingham's goal — 2-0.

Deserved? Yes. City had been pressing hard. It would have been strange if they went halftime with only a one-goal advantage. However, he made a significant mistake just before De Bruyne’s goal. He passed the ball back to Ruben Dias — poorly. Nottingham’s striker, Chris Wood, intercepted it and ran toward Ortega, but there was no goal. So, De Bruyne first avoided the label of “villain” and then turned into a true hero. The Belgian registered a "1+1" in the first half.

The situation didn’t change dramatically in the second half. City played freely, without the mental burden. Finally, it was a joy to watch the team. In the 57th minute, the hosts scored a third goal. Jeremy Doku reminded everyone that he is one of the best dribblers in Europe. The City winger gained speed on the left flank, dribbled past the visitors' defender, Nikola Milenkovic, and curled the ball into the far corner. Beautiful and, most importantly, effective!

Until the end of the match, Doku exploded several more times, making great runs. Ultimately, the two Belgians became the MVPs for City. Guardiola’s team could have scored a couple more goals before the match ended. They weren’t lucky. However, the most important thing is the win. Is Manchester City regaining its confidence?

Published by Patrick Jane
05.12.2024