Manchester City 0–2 Nottingham Forest: Haaland returns to the goal trail as the reigning champions continue to advance

After missing out on a chance to win the championship, Erling Haaland made a comeback to help Manchester City defeat relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest 2-0.

Josko Gvardiol put Manchester City ahead at the interval with a near-post header off a corner from Kevin De Bruyne. That was all that separated the two teams.

Chris Wood and Murillo both had excellent chances to equalize the score at the City Ground, but Forest was left to lament major chances lost in the first forty-five minutes.

However, in the second half, Haaland was called upon by Guardiola, who was managing his 300th Premier League match as City’s manager. The Norway international duly delivered to increase City’s advantage and push the reigning champions back to within a point of leaders Arsenal, who defeated Tottenham earlier on Sunday.

Neco Williams, who was unmarked, attempted to connect correctly with a close-range shot after Ola Aina’s floating cross to the back post, nearly making it a perfect start for Forest.

In the 32nd minute, City took the lead and made Forest pay. Gvardiol was found by De Bruyne’s superb throw, and he headed the ball in at the front post.

Soon after, Wood had plenty of room to equalize when Gonzalo Montiel cut it back on a volley, but the ball got stuck in the striker’s boots and he had the goal at his disposal.

At the stroke of halftime, Forest came agonizingly close once again. Ederson, who was later substituted, was lucky not to give up after failing to handle Callum Hudson-Odoi’s corner, but Murillo was unable to seal the job from a few yards away.

Early in the second half, Wood missed another fantastic opportunity, but Anthony Elanga’s great work down the left side prevented his close-range shot from going through.

In the 63rd minute, De Bruyne once again displayed his inventiveness by slipping a throughball behind the Forest defense; however, Julian Alvarez’s attempt from the edge of the area struck the stands behind the goal.

Just a few seconds later, Matz Sels was forced to intervene, palming behind De Bruyne’s powerful long-range shot that was aimed for the top-left corner.

But in the 71st minute, De Bruyne set up Haaland for the eventual goal that put an end to Forest’s dreams of a comeback. Haaland methodically outplayed his man, moved the ball onto his right foot, and placed it into the bottom-left corner.

Despite losing three of their past four games, Forest is just one point above the relegation zone while City is still chasing Arsenal.

Guardiola: 300 and counting

Guardiola managed Man City in its 300th Premier League match on Sunday, making him the 19th manager to do so and just the fifth for a single team.

Under the Spanish manager’s guidance, City has won 221 of the 300 games, scoring 741 goals and only giving up 247 goals.

With a four-point advantage over Liverpool, who are rapidly losing hope of winning the league, Guardiola will undoubtedly win a historic fourth Premier League championship in a row.

Forest’s ongoing problems don’t seem to be getting better.

Only Sheffield United (38) and Burnley (30) have let up more goals in the first half of their 35 league games this season than Nuno Espirito Santo’s team.

The Tricky Trees have let up 23 goals from set-pieces this season in the tournament, at least five more than any other club. They are one of three teams vying for 17th place after Everton rallied during the previous week.

Forest’s xG of 1.27 in the first half of a match versus City this season, across all competitions, was the highest by any side despite trailing at the interval. Nuno also has to address the team’s wastefulness in front of goal.