Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City Review
Nottingham Forest secured a 1-0 victory over Manchester City at the City Ground, thanks to a late goal from Callum Hudson-Odoi. This win keeps Forest in the race for a UEFA Champions League spot, marking a remarkable season for them. While Pep Guardiola’s team usually leads in possession statistics, they struggled to create significant threats against the home team. An early shot from Erling Haaland went wide after a deflection, and shortly after, Nico González hit the near post with a long-range effort. These were the closest attempts to score in the first half, with the hosts showing some promise but ultimately failing to convert.
Forest maintained their status as the only Premier League home team not to be behind at halftime this season, showing discipline after the break. The flow of the game continued in a similar manner until the hosts increased their tempo, leading to Hudson-Odoi creating a prime scoring chance in the 67th minute, which was thwarted by Ederson’s quick reflexes and the inside of the post. In search of new energy, Guardiola looked to his substitutes, but neither Kevin De Bruyne nor Omar Marmoush could significantly challenge Matz Sels as the clock wound down.
As the match seemed destined for a draw, a brilliant long pass from Morgan Gibbs-White opened up City’s defense, allowing Hudson-Odoi to advance towards the goal, shift to the side, and score past Ederson at his near post. City had little time to react, and despite a powerful volley from Mateo Kovačić going just wide, they ultimately failed to penetrate a well-organized Forest defense.
City had limited time to react, and although Mateo Kovačić’s fierce volley just missed the target, they could not penetrate a solid Forest defense. This victory marks Forest’s first league win against City since December 1997 (with 2 draws and 7 losses), keeping Nuno Espírito Santo’s team in third place, as they have remained in the top four throughout 2025. Additionally, if Chelsea wins against Leicester City on Sunday, City will fall out of the guaranteed Champions League qualification positions.
