The return of Kevin De Bruyne powered Manchester City to a vital 3-0 triumph over Nottingham Forest in the Premier League (PL), halting the Citizens’ streak of seven matches without a victory as a consequence.
Despite all the pre-game chatter about City’s dismal form, they were dominant early on as Bernardo Silva broke the deadlock in the eighth minute, nodding De Bruyne’s header into the goal. The Portuguese and Belgian collaborated again around the 15th minute for the former to deliver a brilliant cross, though Joško Gvardiol directed his header off-target. Gvardiol was later outplayed by Jota Silva, who set up Morgan Gibbs-White for a fierce effort that demanded an excellent save from Stefan Ortega as Forest demonstrated their ability to pose a threat.
Unshaken, the Croatian surged forward and connected with Erling Haaland’s through ball but again sent his effort beyond the post, before De Bruyne also missed the mark. Forest still created chances, and Chris Wood had the best of them following a sloppy pass from De Bruyne, yet the dependable frontman surprisingly missed wide. Shortly after, De Bruyne showed his class and decisively extended the hosts’ advantage with a stunning shot on his first PL appearance since mid-September.
The Tricky Trees continued to fight as Anthony Elanga and Nikola Milenković missed an effort each before halftime, while Wood had a shot deflected after play resumed. Murillo then unleashed a daring attempt that sailed wide, but they were undone again near the 60-minute mark, as Jérémy Doku received Haaland’s pass, charged forward, created space past Nikola Milenković, and delivered a fantastic finish. With momentum firmly restored at the Etihad, De Bruyne curled a free-kick that clipped the side netting and later saw another strike pushed away by Matz Sels.
Although the visitors fought hard, they couldn’t trigger any late drama with Elanga’s shot grazing the roof of the net, as Man City broke their run of four straight PL losses with a win that might prove crucial, especially as league leaders Liverpool dropped points to Newcastle United. The Citizens also handed Forest their third defeat in four outings.
