Man City maintains its right to self-determination in the Premier League

England 's 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest in round 35 helped Man City reduce the gap with Arsenal at the top of the table to one point, with one match left to play.

Man City extended their winning streak in the Premier League to five games, leaving them just four games away from a fourth successive title. Pep Guardiola's side struggled against Nottingham and had significantly fewer shots (11 to 14), but their better finishing helped the visitors claim all three points. They remain unbeaten in 2024, the only team in the league to do so.

Defender Josko Gvardiol gets his nose pinched by Kyle Walker after opening the scoring against Nottingham at the City Ground, round 35 of the Premier League on April 28, 2024. Photo: PA

Guardiola and his team received bad news before the match when in-form midfielder Phil Foden fell ill, giving way to Jeremy Doku, while Erling Haaland was only on the bench. The visitors had possession of the ball for 67% of the first half, twice as much as the home team, but had fewer shots.

The problem was that the defending champions took the better chance to open the scoring, with Kevin de Bruyne flicking a left-hand corner to the near post for Josko Gvardiol to head home. The Croatian defender has scored three goals in his last five games in all competitions, all of them crucial.

Nottingham are in 17th place, fighting to avoid relegation, so they showed their determination. At the end of the first half, the home team created two dangerous chances in a row, but failed to take advantage. In the 38th minute, defender Gonzalo Montiel crossed for striker Chris Wood to tap in from just 5m in front of the goal, but the ball missed. Nine minutes later, goalkeeper Ederson failed to catch the ball from a corner kick, allowing center back Murillo to hit the post from close range.

The two players who made mistakes leading to the two dangerous chances above for Nottingham were replaced by coach Pep Guardiola right before the second half, namely Doku and Ederson. But Man City still did not shoot in the first 15 minutes of the second half. It was only when Haaland came on to replace the injured Jack Grealish that Man City regained control of the game with short passes, while the home defenders did not dare to push too high.

Haaland's goal sealed a 2-0 victory for Man City. Photo: Reuters

In a situation where centre-back Diakhate pushed forward to put pressure on De Bruyne, but was too late, Nottingham had to pay the price. The Belgian midfielder passed the ball to Haaland, one-on-one with Murillo. Seeing his opponent predict the move to his left foot, Haaland turned the ball to the right and then shot low across the corner to make it 2-0.

This situation helped Haaland surpass Cole Palmer in the race for the Premier League Golden Boot, with 21 goals. In the stands, the face of Mr. Alfie Haaland - Erling's father - relaxed a bit. Meanwhile, the away team's audience exploded, celebrating the goal longer than when Gvardiol opened the score.

Having been eliminated from the Champions League, Man City will next play against Wolverhampton on May 4. Their toughest test is said to be the away match at Tottenham on the evening of May 14.

Xuan Binh

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