Match Report & Player Ratings: Nottingham Forest 3-1 Manchester City (Premier League)

Match Report & Player Ratings: Nottingham Forest 3-1 Manchester City (Premier League) Not long ago, City had celebrated seven consecutive Premier League wins in as many matches under Maresca, who became the first manager to achieve such a feat in the division’s history, with a 3-2 win over Ipswich Town. But here, on the back of goals from Jair Cunha and Liam Delap, the away side surrendered to a third straight defeat in the competition and an unwanted record that will surely puncture Maresca’s credentials to win the Premier League title. Had Manchester City  won this game, they would have picked up consecutive top-flight away wins against Forest for the first time since 1925, but despite Rayan Cherki’s wonders to pull a goal back in the 52nd minute, his side’s efforts simply weren’t enough. As a result, City became the first team since Sheffield Wednesday in 1904/05 to lose three straight English top-flight matches following a run of seven consecutive victories in the competition. Jair Cunha had opened the scoring after just six minutes with his first goal in a Nottingham Forest shirt, and one that was as relieving as it was unexpected for the home supporters inside the City Ground. As has been the case in the majority of City’s breakdowns this season, too much patience in possession meant the goalscorer hijacked possession of the ball from deep before driving to the edge of the penalty area, where Cunha sunk a simple finish into the far corner of the net. That was Forest’s first goal at the City Ground competitively in 167 days, or since the final day of last season against Bournemouth on May 24, and inside 14 further minutes, former City player James McAtee could have added to his side’s advantage when Morgan Gibbs-White pulled the ball back from the byline. The attacker took his shot with his first touch and struck way over the bar. Regardless of that wasted chance, paired with Jeremy Doku’s inability to finish beyond the broad frame of Nikola Milenkovic after eight minutes, Liam Delap offered a cushion for Oliver Glasner’s side with a goal of such importance to put Forest 2-0 up. Once again, Manchester City  struggled to communicate in the centre of the pitch, and Iliman Ndiaye and Elliot Anderson were involved in a mix-up that welcomed Delap with a clear run through the middle. A blistering run ensued from Delap, who paced from the centre circle and into City’s penalty area before submitting a thunderous right-footed strike into the top left corner. Even in their chances, City looked hesitant and never possessed the relentlessness and unapologetic aggression that they have shown in previous games in the opening half - take Anfield away last month as an example. Following Forest’s second goal, Maresca managed to wake his side up ahead of the interval as they produced three chances on goal; the most convincing one came after 41 minutes when Erling Haaland took the ball around Matz Sels before Cunha lunged ahead of the shot that would have certainly hit the back of the net without interference. Enzo Fernandez, receiving stadium-wide boos from the home support throughout the match, guided a header over the bar after 24 minutes before Haaland bungled City’s first shot on target of the game unpersuasively at Sels. The away side’s success eventually came, and it only took seven second-half minutes to produce ecstasy amongst the banana-wielding City supporters in the corner of the ground. Cherki dispatched a spectacular half-volley from the edge of the area, which couldn’t have possibly been any further up into the top-left corner of Sels’s net. Only five minutes after City opened their account here, Haaland nearly struck glory with a shot that was bending towards the top-right corner of the net, but all hope from Maresca’s side came crashing down when Delap secured his brace after 73 minutes. The former Manchester City striker began deep in his own half while cleverly diverting the ball beyond Anderson and Matheus Nunes, which yielded a blistering run from Gibbs-White, who returned the ball to Delap when approaching the City box. A couple of touches with a glance up and a powerful left-footed strike followed, with a finish that hardly anyone on earth could have saved, as his shot smacked the side of the far post before trickling down the opposing side of the net. This was a humbling defeat for City, no doubt, and Maresca will enter the international break scratching his head, trying to figure out how he can revive his side’s chances of snatching Arsenal’s Premier League crown. Needless to say, he must start looking from the back. Here’s how we rated the Manchester City players from their 3-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest at the City Ground. Starting XI Gianluigi Donnarumma - 5/10  Could he have stopped any of Forest’s goals? Probably not. Flapped at a corner that nearly found its way into his net, but was otherwise decent in contrast to previous calamities. Abdukodir Khusanov - 5.5/10 Struggled to keep up with Forest’s speed and particularly Gibbs-White’s physicality on the wing, which led to more than one chance in the first half. Ruben Dias - 5.5/10 Much stronger than Maresca’s full-backs for large parts of this game but still performed nowhere near as well as he should be doing. Disorganised and unaware. Marc Guehi - 6/10 Drawn into fouls by Delap, who used his strength to his advantage. Not surprised to see him substituted at half-time, given something needed to change at the back. Josko Gvardiol - 4.5/10 Shouldn’t be caught out like that in midfield amidst a period in the game where Forest are full of energy. Poor decision, and City paid the price. Elliot Anderson - 7/10 Sloppy in midfield compared to his recent outstanding performances. Lost the ball for Delap’s goal in a mix-up with Ndiaye, but some positives to draw from his return to the City Ground. Enzo Fernandez - 6/10 Shifted the ball efficiently in midfield and nearly scored with a header in the opening 25 minutes. Nothing much to point out, on both a positive and negative scale. Iliman Ndiaye - 6.5/10 Really struggled under Glasner’s clever tactics, where it seemed his full-backs were stationed to press aggressively. Struggled to create much at all. Rayan Cherki - 7/10 Found little involvement in the first half, but produced a stunning goal to unnerve Forest for the remainder of the game despite defeat ultimately occurring. Jeremy Doku - 6.5/10 Tried his best to move the ball efficiently, but Forest had an incredible plan to counter his dribbling prowess by double-teaming. Looked better in the second half compared to the first. Erling Haaland - 6.5/10 Wasted a good chance when played through by Guehi but was unfortunate not to convert after taking it around Sels. A handful of chances today but Forest were unbreakable. Substitutes Nico O’Reilly - 6/10 A very poor game for Gvardiol, so any fresh legs would have sufficed. A generally positive addition to the game.