With Liverpool winning just one of their last five league games, this season's Premier League title race is gradually becoming a two-man affair between Arsenal and Manchester City. After Arsenal's victory in the north London derby, Manchester City also played against Nottingham Forest in the 35th round, with Gvardiol and Haaland scoring in each half as Manchester City won 2-0 away and continued to chase Arsenal at the top of the table.
Nottingham Forest are 17th in the table, just one point above the relegation zone, and the pressure of relegation is not small. Foden was not included in the squad due to illness, Haaland was on the bench, Alvarez continued to play as a lone arrow, Doku, Grealish and De Bruyne ambushed behind him, B and Rodri were in the back, Walker, Akanji, Ake and Gvardiol built the backline, and Ederson was in goal.
After the opening, Manchester City did not have an unexpected advantage, in the 9th minute, De Bruyne flashed an angle like a pass, Zeles fell to the ground to save the ball; in the 13th minute, Rodri actively counter-grabbed in the front, Alvarez crossed, Doku made a slight adjustment on the periphery of the penalty area and shot wide; in the 14th minute, Neco Williams received the ball on the right side and fired a volley past Grealish defense, Ederson saved the ball sideways from the bottom line; in the 32nd minute, De Bruyne took a corner kick, Gvardiol rushed forward and nodded the ball into the net, 1:0! Kevin De Bruyne provided his 15th assist of the season, the most assists of any player in the Premier League so far.
In the 37th minute, Ena crossed from the left, Montiel at the back post selflessly knocked on the side, Chris Wood was unmarked in front of the goal, and he wasted the opportunity to equalize with a direct kick; in the 40th minute, Hudson-Odoi got rid of Akanji along the left side and cut inside and put an anti-aircraft gun; before half-time, Nottingham Forest corner kick attack, Ederson appeared to save the ball and got rid of it, and Murillo hit the crossbar with a hook shot on his back! Manchester City dominated the first half, but in reality the most dangerous chances of the game were created by Nottingham Forest, but all of them were squandered.
Just after returning in the second half, Guardiola took the initiative to make changes, the sluggish Doku was replaced by Kovacic, and Ederson was also withdrawn by Ortega due to a shoulder injury in the first half; in the 47th minute, Elanga made a strong breakthrough on the left and Walker successfully knocked a low flat ball, Chris Wood had a great chance to sweep in front of the goal and was blocked; and then Manchester City's attack was difficult to improve, and Guardiola also replaced Haaland to strengthen the attack. The substitution also immediately improved City's attacking standards, and in the 62nd minute, De Bruyne sent straight to the front of the pitch and Alvarez followed up with a volley over the crossbar.
In the 67th minute, Haaland interspersed with running positions in the front field to attract the defense, De Bruyne aimed at the angle and shot from a distance, Zeles flew to save the ball from the bottom line; in the 71st minute, it was De Bruyne who advanced with the ball and sent a straight stopper, Haaland faced Murillo's defense one-on-one, easily got rid of the low shot far corner to expand the advantage, 2:0! Haaland scored the 21st goal in the league and re-led the scorer list.
In the rest of the game, Manchester City used skillful passing and foot skills to firmly occupy the ball, and Nottingham Forest also failed to create any threatening offensive due to the decline in fitness, and finally Manchester City took away three points 2:0 away, leaving only one point behind Arsenal.