Nottingham Forest snatched all three points as a late Callum Hudson-Odoi strike condemned Manchester City to a 1-0 Premier League (PL) defeat at the City Ground.
Firmly in contention for a UEFA Champions League spot, Forest have had a remarkable season, achieving success with the league’s lowest average possession to put them one point above City ahead of kick-off. Pep Guardiola’s side top the possession charts, and they typically dominated in that respect, albeit without regularly troubling the home side. An early snapshot from Erling Haaland trickled wide via a deflection, shortly before Nico González rifled an effort from distance against the outside of the near post. Those chances were as close as anyone came to breaking the first-half deadlock, with the hosts having promising flashes that ultimately led to nothing.
Maintaining their record as the only PL home side yet to trail at half-time this season, Forest remained disciplined after the restart. The pattern of play remained largely the same until an injection of tempo favoured the hosts, allowing Hudson-Odoi to carve out a golden opportunity in the 67th minute, denied only by a combination of Ederson’s quick reactions and the inside of the post. In search of fresh impetus, Guardiola turned to his bench, but neither Kevin De Bruyne nor Omar Marmoush was able to truly trouble Matz Sels as time ticked away.
With the contest heading towards a draw, a brilliant raking pass from Morgan Gibbs-White opened up City, giving Hudson-Odoi the space to drive towards goal before shifting outside and striking beyond Ederson at his near post. City had little time to respond, and despite a venomous Mateo Kovačić volley flying narrowly wide, they were ultimately unable to break down a well-organised Forest unit.
A first triumph over City in the league since December 1997 (D2, L7) keeps Nuno Espírito Santo’s side third, having yet to fall outside the top four in 2025. Meanwhile, a Chelsea win over Leicester City on Sunday would see City drop out of the guaranteed UCL qualification spots.
