Manchester City's slide continued with a third consecutive Premier League defeat as Nottingham Forest secured a 3-1 victory at the City Ground. The result leaves the Blues heading into the international break with serious questions after a dismal display.
Slow Start Proves Costly
Oliver Glasner's team, short of confidence in front of goal before this match, capitalised on abject defending to score twice in the opening 19 minutes. Josko Gvardiol ran into trouble for the opener, while the second came from a comedy of errors.
Enzo Maresca made two changes at half-time, and the response was immediate as Rayan Cherki pulled one back early in the second half. However, the Blues could not build on that momentum.
Late Third Seals the Game
With 15 minutes remaining, Delap broke through to smash in a third for Forest. City attempted to fight back but were not good enough, leaving the Manchester Evening News to deliver a damning set of player ratings.
Player Ratings from the Manchester Evening News
Donnarumma: No major dramas, although there were still a few wobbles and he remains weak at set-pieces. 5
Khusanov: Looked better at centre-back than right-back, as he has regularly this season. Maybe start him in the middle? 6
Guehi: One of several players who could have done better for the first Delap goal, although he played some useful balls forward. 5
Dias: Guilty of wasting the ball as City looked for a way back and then helpless as Delap smashed in the third. 4
Gvardiol: When he got caught in possession for the Forest opener, it was the third time in six minutes. Headless until he was removed at the break. 3
Anderson: Better than his midfield teammates, but still overrun too often as Forest weathered the second half storm and then pounced. 5
Fernandez: Should have done better with a first-half header and he looked more a hindrance than a help to City attacks. 4
Cherki: Ridiculously wasteful to cause City problems in and out of position, yet always creative and capable of his banger of a goal. 5
Ndiaye: Plenty of running and graft, some decent crosses, but also some poor decisions that cost City. 4
Doku: Another game where he looked threatening without having enough to show for it. 5
Haaland: Had a few sniffs at goal and will feel he should have scored in the second half with the one that fell to his right foot. 5
Substitutes and Unused Players
Nunes (for Guehi, 46): At fault for the second Delap goal, undoing his good work before then. 5
O'Reilly (for Gvardiol, 46): Partnership with Doku was fine, although he could have been a lot better in the final third. 5
Foden (for Fernandez, 78): No impact. 5
Not used: Rulli, Reis, Lewis, Kovacic, Bouaddi, Allan.
The defeat leaves Manchester City with serious questions to address during the international break, with the player ratings reflecting a performance that fell well short of expectations.
