Manchester City continued their redemption tour after the Champions League exit to Real Madrid with a 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest.
The Blues did not have things all their own way at the City Ground but they opened the scoring on 32 minutes as Josko Gvardiol diverted a near post corner into the back of the net. Chris Wood will have felt he should have done better not to equalise before the end of the half and unsurprisingly, this would come back to bite him.
Erling Haaland rounded off the scoring 20 minutes from time with a neat finish one-on-one with Matz Sels. The result means City are just a point behind Arsenal having played a game less and they are in the driving seat to retain their title.
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MEN Sport has taken a look at how the national media saw the game unfold in relation to the title race.
The Athletic
City reporter Sam Lee wrote about City finding their ‘silver lining’ this season after the disappointment of the Champions League. He explained: “With Bernardo Silva looking well below his best and De Bruyne seemingly ready to drop by the final whistle, City can be pretty happy that they are not in Champions League action this week.
“‘Happy’ is not exactly the right word, as Guardiola and his players would give anything to be travelling to Munich looking to retain the Champions League, still in pursuit of a treble. Guardiola has been complaining about City’s scheduling recently and the tight turnaround between matches, but even he says he would rather still be in the Champions League than out of it.
“But the fact they are indeed out of it can only help them in their quest to win the title.”
Daily Mirror
Tom Victor chose to focus on Haaland’s return and how that will benefit their title push. He wrote: “City coped just fine without Erling Haaland against Brighton in midweek, but it didn’t take long for the Norwegian to show what he can do after coming off the bench against Forest.
“He’d been on the pitch for less than 10 minutes when he found a way past Sels to settle nerves and score his 21st league goal of the season. That number is one more than Cole Palmer, who had drawn level at the top of the charts in recent weeks.
“While Haaland would surely love to top the pile for a second straight season, there’s the old cliche about three points for the team mattering more than any personal achievements.”
The Guardian
While Will Unwin praised City’s way to find a victory. “City knew they were coming into a storm but they are the masters of navigating hostile environments,” he explained.
“Guardiola’s side were nowhere near their best but came up with moments of quality when it mattered to silence Nottingham Forest and keep their title charge on track. Arsenal’s victory earlier in the day had ramped up the pressure but they held their nerve.”