Rayan Cherki contributed to both goals as he scored one and assisted the other as they narrowly won 2-1 against passionate Nottingham Forest, with Pep Guardiola’s unbeaten Premier League run to 17 games against Sean Dyche kept intact.
The game started with an emotional tribute from Forest towards their club legend John Robertson, who died earlier this week. The home team almost scored at the very start of the game as Callum Hudson-Odoi found Morgan Gibbs-White with a dangerous cross, but the latter was a bit too late to connect with the ball. Apart from that, the first 45 minutes were uneventful and tightly contested as Forest’s defensive strategy kept City at bay, who failed to get a shot on target in the whole half.
Right after the break, City started in their typical dominant manner and scored the opening goal almost immediately. Neither were actually Reijnders or Cherki on the list of goal scorers yet, as the Dutch midfielder received a perfectly timed pass from Cherki and finished composedly past the goalkeeper. The home team did not back down and managed to level the score thanks to Omari Hutchinson, who executed a first-time shot after the teamwork play started from Hudson-Odoi and ended with Gibbs-White.
Later on, with the score in balance, Cherki brought the breakthrough with a low shot through the defenders’ legs and the keeper’s second goal to give his side the win, which they have now extended to eight in a row across all competitions. Despite the good performance, Forest are still just outside the relegation places.
