At 32′ of the first half, the full-back converted a corner Kevin De Bruyne and left the goalkeeper without a chance, when Guardiola’s men were not having a good time in the game and risked the home team’s counterattacks, that loomed over the arch defended by Éderson.
And in the complement, City came out asleep and disconcerted, suffering the attacks of a Forest that was within striking distance of equality on several occasions. But Guardiola moved the bench and changed the course of the match. He first took out Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku, who could not gravitate on the outside to bring in Haaland and send him to the double nine with Julián Álvarez, ahead of a Bernardo Silva and a De Bruyne who gave more brains to the team.
And in a lethal attack, the Norwegian was in charge of finishing the process: he received from the Belgian, got rid of a marker and, from the right, crossed it before the goalkeeper came out.
The 2-0 score lowered the blinds on the match, which consumed several minutes with City’s possession to secure the result against a Nottingham Forest that was flirting with relegation and could not make the home team weigh on.
The victory, however, is more important for City who, with one game less, He manages to stay within striking distance of Arsenal and remains the virtual leader if he catches up with a victory. The Manchester team reached 79 points, one below the Gunners, who beat Tottenham this Sunday and keep the fight red-hot.