Kevin De Bruyne’s return helped Manchester City secure a much-needed 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, ending their seven-game winless run.
Despite all the talk before the match about City’s poor form, they started strongly. Bernardo Silva opened the scoring in the 8th minute, directing De Bruyne’s header into the net. The two linked up again on the 15-minute mark, with Silva delivering a lovely cross, but Joško Gvardiol’s header went wide. Forest showed they could be a threat when Gvardiol lost the ball to Jota Silva, who set up Morgan Gibbs-White for a powerful shot that forced a great save from Stefan Ortega.
Undeterred, Gvardiol made a run forward and latched onto a through ball from Erling Haaland but missed the target again. De Bruyne also fired wide. Forest had a big chance when De Bruyne made a poor pass, but Chris Wood wasted the opportunity by shooting wide. Just moments later, De Bruyne made up for his mistake by scoring a brilliant goal to double City’s lead on his first Premier League start since mid-September.
Forest continued to fight, with Anthony Elanga and Nikola Milenković sending shots off target before halftime. After the break, Wood had another attempt blocked, and Murillo’s ambitious shot went wide. City then sealed the win just before the hour mark. Jérémy Doku collected a pass from Haaland, glided forward, and scored with a fantastic finish.
With City’s confidence back, De Bruyne nearly added a fourth with a free-kick that grazed the side netting, and then forced a save from Matz Sels. Despite Forest’s efforts, they couldn’t threaten late on, and Elanga’s shot went over the bar. Manchester City’s win ended a run of four consecutive Premier League defeats, and it was even more significant as league leaders Liverpool dropped points against Newcastle. The victory also handed Forest their third loss in the last four matches.
