Haaland was centre of attention again moments later when he fired a close-range shot against the bar before blasting over with the subsequent chance. Haaland looked to have been pulled back by Worrall on 66 minutes but the referee dismissed appeals.Īnd just as it looked like the official was off to check the VAR monitor, he instead headed to the visitors dugout to book Pep Guardiola. The ball flew on a similar trajectory when Rodri headed wide on 65 minutes. Walker pinged in a superb low cross from the right flank and it was inches away from Gundogan as the ball eventually made its way out of play.ĭe Bruyne was annoyed with himself as he fired wide of Navas’s right-hand post from distance on 61 minutes. There was another half chance on 57 minutes as wave after wave continued for the visitors. Navas got down well on 55 minutes to stop a De Bruyne flicked shot from the left flank. Morgan Gibbs-White tried his luck on 54 minutes after a Forest counter-attack but his shot was high and handsome well over Ederson’s bar. It could – and really should – have been 2-0 on 52 minutes as Aymeric Laporte found space but headed straight at Navas from the closest of ranges, the goalkeeper collecting at the second time of asking. Gundogan fired a shot from the left channel just wide on 47 minutes as City showed intent at the start of the second period.įoden flew forward after a wonderful ball into his path by Gundogan a minute later and with, the goal approaching, our winger was caught in two minds, passing it into Haaland who couldn’t reach the pass as Forest cleared the danger. With City going forward time and again, Kevin De Bruyne fired wide from just outside the box on 28 minutes while the playmaker produced an immaculate ball in from the right to the energetic Foden two minutes later but the Forest defenders crowded him out as he looked for an opening. There was intense pressure in the Forest box on 19 minutes involving Foden, Grealish and Haaland but the star striker couldn’t add to his 26-goal top-flight tally as he struggled to get his shot away. In fact, in the first 15 minutes, City enjoyed 91% possession at the City Ground. This was a rare foray forward by Forest who were struggling to get into the game against a City side showcasing their slick, smooth passing game. Grealish thought he’d won a foul on 13 minutes as he went toe-to-toe with Brennan Johnson but the referee waved play on, with the Forest forward lashing at a cross-cum-shot which was cleared by Kyle Walker, making the 350th Premier League appearance of his career. There was another fine stop on nine minutes as Serge Aurier put his body on the line to stop a left-foot drive by Ilkay Gundogan. On the other side of the coin, Forest defended resolutely for the opening period and that began on eight minutes as Joe Worrall did well to block Jack Grealish’s shot, after a fine ball from Phil Foden picked him out in the box. The first half was dominated by City as we enjoyed a huge bulk of the possession – but it looked like that control wouldn’t be rewarded with a deserved goal until Bernardo’s 41st minute effort.
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