Champions Manchester City asserted their dominance with a comfortable 2-0 victory over relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest at City Ground on Sunday, closing the gap to Premier League leaders Arsenal to just one point as the title race intensifies.
Earlier in the day, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal team narrowly edged past Tottenham Hotspur 3-2, extending their lead at the top of the Premier League table to four points.
In their pursuit of an unprecedented fourth consecutive English top-flight title, Pep Guardiola’s Man City side secured the win against a resilient Forest side, with goals from Josko Gvardiol and Erling Haaland in each half.
Despite Forest’s determined efforts, including missed chances by Chris Wood, Ma City maintained their composure to secure the crucial three points.
Forest, fighting to avoid relegation, will be disappointed with missed opportunities, remaining just outside the relegation zone by a single point with three games remaining.
Guardiola’s City, riding on a 30-match unbeaten run in all competitions, faced some early challenges at the City Ground, with Forest showing glimpses of threat.
However, City broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute when Gvardiol found the net from a Kevin De Bruyne corner.
Although Forest continued to pose occasional threats, City gradually asserted control, with Haaland sealing the victory with his 21st Premier League goal of the season, assisted by De Bruyne.
“It was a difficult game, they played with bravery,” City manager Pep Guardiola told Sky Sports.
“They have fast players with a lot of quality so we found a goal in the moment when it was 10 against 11 (while Neco Williams was receiving treatment off the pitch).
“It is a great victory as we had a lot of games behind us. Now we have a long week to recover.”
The win keep City firmly in the Premier League title race, with four games remaining, one more than Arsenal.
Third-placed Liverpool are four points behind City having played a game more and are realistically out of the title picture.
Forest, last month docked four points for breaches of Premier League financial rules, remain just one point outside the relegation zone with three games to go.
