Manchester City closed the gap on Arsenal at the top of the Premier League to just one point after beating Nottingham Forest 2-0.
Forest had a few good chances in the first half, but it was City who took the lead. In the 32nd minute, Josko Gvardiol slotted home a corner to put the ball past Matz Sels and give the visitors the lead.
Although City were ahead, Forest looked capable of equalizing as the second half progressed. But Erling Haaland, who came on the bench, scored in the 71st minute to secure victory for Pep Guardiola’s team.
Here, Athleticism Sam Lee analyzes City’s victory.
How important was Haaland’s presence?
It’s probably rude to even think that, given that I myself had recently doubted the value of having Haaland on the team.
When he doesn’t have many touches and he doesn’t score either, a vital point! – it was easy to wonder whether City might be better off, in some matches anyway, with Julian Alvarez up front, doing the old false nine of connecting with the midfield and helping City dominate the matches like before Haaland. That’s exactly what he did in December and January when Haaland was injured and he may do it again in the future.
But Haaland has been seen missing in recent matches, dating back to extra time against Real Madrid when an injury forced him off. Alvarez has been squeezed out, struggling to get into matches and against Brighton on Thursday night, although he played well overall, he couldn’t fight for long balls like Haaland would have done.
Here it seemed City needed something else, even the specter of Haaland: the bogeyman, someone who could running behind, someone who could win a head. The game started to turn when he came on, not necessarily his fault, but City started to have some space to play; run into the midfield and get behind the defense.
They needed to get their foot on the ball first and foremost, so Kevin De Bruyne was conservative at first, but when he saw Haaland pull back he would have known the pass was the right option and the Norwegian handled it perfectly.
Normally he just settles in and applies the finish when De Bruyne brings him in, but this time he had a little more work to do, moving the ball to beat a man and get into shooting position, and he did it perfectly. .
That’s his true value, but the sheer threat this man poses shouldn’t be overlooked either.
Was City’s performance a problem?
Any victory here would have been hugely important for City given Arsenal’s result – the league leaders won 3-2 away to local rivals Tottenham Hotspur – particularly the way Tottenham were playing well and missing chances and even threatened to save an unlikely person. draw later.
Premier League: title race
Position | Team | Games | Points | Differential objective. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
35 |
80 |
57 |
|
2 |
34 |
79 |
50 |
|
3 |
35 |
75 |
41 |
It’s never been clearer that City will simply have to win all of their matches, but this victory was particularly important because of how poor City were for much of the match – long enough for Forest to have scored at least a couple of goals. if they had finished better or had better luck.
For around 30 minutes either side of half-time, City could barely keep the ball. If they managed to pull off a rare foray into Forest’s half, they derailed it, with Gvardiol and Nathan Ake taking ideas over their post and, for whatever reason, trying to dribble into the final third.
Forest continued to have chances and it seemed like a matter of time before they at least equalized. Any Arsenal fans watching this would certainly be cursing City’s luck as they continued to get away with it.
Haaland’s goal ensures the title is still in their hands, which wasn’t unexpected at the start of the day, but given how tense City have been for long periods, it started to look uncertain for a moment.
Is this the positive side of leaving the Champions League?
With Bernardo Silva looking well below his best and De Bruyne seemingly ready to give up at the final whistle, City may be quite happy to miss out on the Champions League this week.
‘Happy’ isn’t exactly the right word, as Guardiola and his players would give anything to travel to Munich in a bid to retain the Champions League, still in search of a treble. Guardiola has recently complained about City’s schedule and tight time between matches, but even he says he would rather stay in the Champions League than leave it.
But the fact that they actually came out of it can only help them in their quest for the title. After limping past Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final last weekend, they could prepare for Brighton and Forest – with a tighter turnaround than Madrid v Chelsea – and just focus on those two matches.
Imagine the added complications of having to work out who should start these two games while trying to have a team strong enough and fit enough to also reach a Champions League final. As it stands, they can now enjoy some time off before recovering for Wolves at home next Saturday, and after that it’s another free week before Fulham departs. No worries for Bayern, no extra minutes in the legs.
With Arsenal out of Europe too and able to rest, it’s a ray of hope for their penalty heartbreak against Madrid.
Premier League: title race
Position | Team | Games | Points | Differential objective. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
35 |
80 |
57 |
|
2 |
34 |
79 |
50 |
|
3 |
35 |
75 |
41 |
What did Pep Guardiola say?
Guardiola was particularly impressed with the way his team handled the game against Forest. He said: “We defended the box very well, especially with Manu [Akanji]Nathan [Ake] and if [Gvardiol]. Then, in the last half hour, when Bernardo [Silva] enters with Kova [Kovacic]we controlled the game more. We are a team that survives with the ball.
“It’s been a lot of games and we knew today would be tough for a lot of reasons, but we get the win and move forward.”
What future for City?
Saturday May 4: Wolverhampton Wanderers (H), Premier League, 5:30 p.m. BST, 12:30 p.m. ET
Vengeance might be on the cards for City if there wasn’t a bigger fish to fry (i.e. an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title). In September, Gary O’Neil’s side triumphed 2–1 at Molineux against City, putting the latter into form in the league: after this defeat, City won only three of their next eight matches.
Wolves’ last win at the Etihad was in October 2019 – a 2-0 victory thanks to an Adama Traore brace in the final 10 minutes – but City won the next three matches at home by an aggregate score of 8- 1.
What future for Forest?
Saturday May 4: Sheffield United (A), Premier League, 3 p.m. BST, 10 a.m. ET
Nuno’s side move to the lowest-ranked team in the division, with three points doing more for the away team than the home side at this stage of the season. The last three matches between the two have all ended 2-1, with Forest winning two of those three.
Both of those victories saw Chris Wood score an 89th-minute winner in this season’s reverse fixture, while Forest’s last visit to Bramall Lane came in May 2022 in the first leg of the play-off semi-final. championship. Jack Colback and Brennan Johnson scored for Steve Cooper’s team that day.
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(Top photo: Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)