BritishThe 2-0 win over host Nottingham Forest in round 35 helped Man City close the gap with Arsenal at the top of the table to one point, with a match in hand.
Man City increased its winning streak in the Premier League to five matches, only four matches away from a fourth consecutive championship. Pep Guardiola's team faced many difficulties against Nottingham and finished much less than their opponents (11 compared to 14), but their ability to take advantage of opportunities better helped the away team win all three points. They maintain their unbeaten streak in 2024, also the only team in the tournament to do this.
Defender Josko Gvardiol had his nose pinched by Kyle Walker after opening the score against Nottingham at the City Ground, round 35 of the Premier League on April 28, 4. Image: PA
Guardiola and his team received bad news before the match when in-form midfielder Phil Foden was sick, giving up his starting position to Jeremy Doku, while Erling Haaland was only a substitute. The away team kept the ball 67% of the first half, twice as much as the home team, but finished less.
The problem was that the defending champions took advantage of the better opportunity to open the score, when Kevin de Bruyne kicked the left corner to the near post for Josko Gvardiol to head in a cross towards the near corner. The Croatian defender has scored three goals in the last five matches in all competitions, all of them important.
Nottingham is ranked 17th, having to race to stay relegated, so they show determination. At the end of the first half, the home team created two dangerous opportunities in a row, but failed to take advantage. In the 38th minute, defender Gonzalo Montiel stretched as if to give striker Chris Wood a cushion from a distance of only 5 meters in front of the open goal, but missed the ball. Nine minutes later, goalkeeper Ederson missed the ball from a corner kick, allowing midfielder Murillo to kick a close-range rebound against the post.
The two players who made mistakes leading to the two dangerous opportunities mentioned above for Nottingham were replaced by coach Pep Guardiola right before the second half, those were Doku and Ederson. But Man City still did not finish a single shot in the first 15 minutes of the second half. Only when Haaland came on to replace the injured Jack Grealish did Man City regain the game with short passes, without the home defenders daring to push too high.
Haaland's situation sealed a 2-0 victory for Man City. Image: Reuters
In a situation where midfielder Diakhate rose high to put pressure on De Bruyne, but was unable to do so, Nottingham had to pay the price. The Belgian midfielder poked Haaland one-on-one with Murillo. Seeing his opponent catch the card and move it to his left foot, Haaland turned the ball to the right and then scored a low cross-angle shot to set the score 2-0.
This situation helps Haaland surpass Cole Palmer in the Premier League top scorer race, with 21 goals. In the stands, Mr. Alfie Haaland's face - Erling's father - relaxed a bit. The away team's audience burst into tears, celebrating the goal even longer than when Gvardiol opened the scoring.
Due to being eliminated in the Champions League, Man City will play their next match against away team Wolverhampton on May 4. The most difficult challenge for them is said to be the away match at Tottenham on the evening of May 5.
Xuan Binh
