Premier League results: Man City defeated Nottingham Forest, closely following Arsenal

Arsenal's victory puts pressure on Man City in their away trip to Nottingham Forest. Facing an opponent who was determined to earn points to ensure relegation, coach Pep Guardiola's team did not play as well as usual but still had enough to win.

Nottingham Forest's ball control rate in the first half was just over 30%. However, the surprising thing is that the home team had more shots than the opponent. Nottingham Forest can only blame themselves for not being able to score after 8 shots (only once on target).

Meanwhile, Man City's attack was deadlocked and did not create an overwhelming position at high intensity, but they knew how to take advantage of opportunities. Josko Gvardiol opened the scoring in the 32nd minute with a header after a corner kick aimed at the near post area by Kevin De Bruyne.

The situation of the game did not change much in the second half. Man City held the ball more but only coordinated slowly, rarely creating threatening situations that made it difficult for the opponent's defense.

In the opposite direction, Nottingham Forest had many open counter-attack situations on both sides when the opponent advanced. However, the quality of the attacking players is not high, causing the home team to ruin their chances. 

In the 62nd minute, coach Pep Guardiola sent Erling Haaland onto the field. The Norwegian striker was lackluster for most of the match. However, as soon as the opportunity appeared, he immediately made his mark with a simple push and finish to increase the score to 20 in the 71st minute.

This goal helped Haaland surpass Cole Palmer in the race to win the title of "golden shoe" (top scorer) in the Premier League 2023/24 season. The Man City striker temporarily holds the number 1 position with 21 goals, 1 more than his former teammate.

Nottingham Forest could not improve the quality of their attack in the remaining time despite their efforts to push the squad higher. Man City kept the game under control. The 2-0 score is enough for coach Pep Guardiola and his team to continue chasing the top team Arsenal with a gap of only 1 point (Man City has 1 make-up match left).

Premier League rankings 2023/24

Round 35

*Everton was deducted 6 points, Nottingham Forest was deducted 4 points.