Coach Guardiola's invention is surprisingly effective, Man City responds to Arsenal's 'call'

As a guest at City Ground, Man City's mission is to win because in the previous match Arsenal - the team that is competing fiercely with them - got 3 points against Tottenham. The challenge for the blue half of Manchester is not easy because Nottingham Forest is very thirsty for points to stay in the league. In addition, The Citizens also do not have the strongest force when many key players are absent.

However, coach Pep Guardiola still proved that he is a master of invention. In the absence of Foden and Kovacic, the Spanish coach used two players, Jack Grealish and Doku, to replace them. Surprisingly, Jack Grealish and Doku rarely appeared together before because their playing style and positions were somewhat similar.

In addition to the above arrangement, Nathan Ake and Josko Gvardiol also switched roles in defense. Josko Gvardiol was pushed to the left wing, participating more in the attack while Nathan Ake played center-back with Manuel Akanji.

Man City need points but coach Pep Guardiola is still confident in rotating the squad

The changes made by coach Pep Guardiola brought unexpected results. In the first half, the ball almost only rolled on Nottingham Forest's field. The two wing corridors with Jack Grealish and Doku full of speed made the home team's defense struggle to defend. Man City held the ball for more than 70% and continuously bombarded Nottingham Forest's goal. Man City proved that coach Pep Guardiola's reserve Erling Haaland - the striker who has scored 20 goals in the Premier League this season - was not a problem for them.

On a day when he played in a position that was not his forte, Josko Gvardiol played brilliantly. The Croatian player locked down the home team's most dangerous "detonator", Anthony Elanga. Not only that, Josko Gvardiol's runs up the sideline were as fast as a player who usually plays in an attacking position. In the first half, Josko Gvardiol himself made smart runs and headed accurately, opening the score for Man City.

Witnessing Josko Gvardiol shine, Sky Sport commentators exclaimed: "It's crazy, Coach Guardiola is a true football genius and a top tactical thinker. He discovered Josko Gvardiol is a player who can play on the wing and attack. Man City's defense now has three central defenders, sometimes four, and that makes Man City proactive in attack and solid in defense."

Josko Gvardiol played excellently despite being placed on the left wing.

If Nottingham Forest faced Man City's speedy players in the first half, they were "tortured" by Matheus Nunes and Mateo Kovacic, who were full of technique. At the same time, De Bruyne - a player who played prominently since the beginning of the match - was also assigned to play freely by coach Pep Guardiola. In the 71st minute, the Belgian player made an accurate pass, putting Haaland in a face-to-face position with goalkeeper Murillo. Haaland also made no mistake in finishing to seal a 2-0 victory for Man City.

Haaland has his 21st goal in the Premier League season 2023 - 2024

The win over Nottingham Forest marked Man City's 19-match unbeaten streak in the 2023-2024 Premier League season. They also won their last 5 matches to have 79 points.

Currently, coach Pep Guardiola's team is ranked 2nd, 1 point behind the leader Arsenal but still has 1 match in hand. Man City's remaining 3-round schedule is rated lightly against Arsenal and they are aiming for the 4th consecutive championship.

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