Highlights after Man City beat Forest 3-0 at home to return to the top four in the Premier League

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Highlights after Man City beat Forest 3-0 at home to return to the top four in the Premier League

  • Manchester City ended a seven-game winless run in all competitions after beating Nottingham Forest 3-0 at home.
  • Pep Guardiola made four changes to his starting line-up, with Kevin De Bruyne starting for the first time since September 18.
  • The Citizens’ win moved them up to fourth, nine points behind leaders Liverpool.
Highlights after Man City beat Forest 3-0 at home to return to the top four in the Premier League

Manchester City ended a seven-game winless run in all competitions. After beating Nottingham Forest 3-0 in the Premier League on Wednesday night.

Pep Guardiola made four changes to his starting line-up from the 2-0 defeat at Liverpool, with captain Kevin De Bruyne handed his first start since September 18. While Phil Foden was not even named on the bench after suffering bronchitis.

De Bruyne’s brilliance was something that City had been missing during their slump and the Belgian midfielder was impressive. Scoring once and providing an assist before earning a standing ovation upon coming off, with Bernardo Silva and Jérémy Doku the other two goals.

Manchester City had just experienced a three-goal lead with less than 15 minutes. Remaining before being held to a 3-3 draw by Feyenoord in the Champions League last week. Which left them feeling particularly cautious for the rest of the ยูฟ่าเบท game. After leading 3-0 in the 55th minute.

The victory for the Citizens was their first since beating Southampton 1-0 on October 26 and also moved them up to fourth in the Premier League table, nine points behind leaders Liverpool, who drew 3-3 with Newcastle United.

Pep insists there is no problem with De Bruyne

Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher have both suggested that Pep Guardiola and Kevin De Bruyne are at odds with the Belgian having struggled for game time. Since returning from injury, most notably coming on as a substitute when the Reds were 2-0 down at Liverpool.

However, Guardiola said in an interview ahead of the game against Nottingham Forest that he had no problem with De Bruyne and that the reason he did not start the 33-year-old was to preserve him because he had been out for a long time due to injury.

However, in this match, Guardiola saw it as time to give De Bruyne a first-team start for more than two months, and De Bruyne responded with a goal and an assist.

During the substitution, De Bruyne was seen hugging Guardiola on the sidelines, all smiles, reaffirming that there was no rift between the two.

Haaland, blind foot

One of Guardiola’s concerns is the drop in Erling Haaland’s form. As he has not scored in three consecutive league games, and he previously had a three-game league spell without scoring.

Haaland has scored 12 goals in 14 Premier League games this season. While he was the top scorer. He has now been overtaken by Mohamed Salah. After the Egyptian forward netted twice in Liverpool’s 3-3 draw at Newcastle United.

Last season, Haaland scored 27 goals in 31 league games and won the Golden Boot. There are still a few games left for the Norwegian striker to score at the same level. But there is no denying that his form has been slightly below par.

Guardiola returns to the starting line-up

After a recent drop in form, Guardiola had to make a change by dropping Josko Gvardiol to the bench. Against Liverpool and giving Nathan Ake a chance to start.

Ake’s performance in that match was so good that there were calls for the Dutchman to continue as a regular. But that would not be good for the player who needs to regain his confidence. That’s why Guardiola chose to start both Ake and Guardiola together.

Guardiola has been deployed at left-back, while Ake has been moved to centre-back, and both have impressed. Guardiola has had some defensive blunders, but that is a positive sign after the storms he has endured.

Pep has another injury worry

Pep Guardiola admitted after the game that he felt sad. Even though Manchester City ended a seven-game winless run due to injuries to two defenders.

Manuel Akanji, who played at right-back in the game, was substituted at half-time with Kyle Walker coming on for the second half, before Nathan Ake picked up an injury late on and was replaced by James McAtee.

Guardiola has revealed Akanji has been struggling with an injury over the past two months but the Swiss defender is expected to miss at least one of the next games, while Ake could be out for longer. That could leave City with only one main centre-back available to play against Crystal Palace, with John Stones also out.