Manchester City let their lead slip twice in a damaging 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest and dropped two further points in their pursuit of Premier League leaders Arsenal.
The next time Pep Guardiola’s side walk out at the Etihad for a league match, it will be against the Gunners in mid-April, live on Sky Sports.
Perhaps the landscape will look different again by then, but for now, the gap at the top has lengthened to seven points after Arsenal beat Brighton on Wednesday.
On a night where finesse was in short supply, with City missing the balance of Nico O’Reilly in midfield, Antoine Semenyo and Rodri scored either side of the break, with a wonderfully improvised back-flick goal from Morgan Gibbs-White sandwiched in between.
Bernardo Silva shows his frustration during Man City’s draw with Nottingham Forest
Forest were full of spirit and fight, creating less than their hosts but proving equally as clinical when it mattered. Elliot
Anderson sauntered through midfield by playing a clever one-two with Callum Hudson-Odoi in the second half – shortly after Erling Haaland had a legitimate penalty appeal turned down – and wrapped his foot around a fine finish. City were stunned.
The home side had chances to win it in stoppage time, Rodri firing carelessly wide from Savinho’s cutback and Semenyo sending a free-kick a whisker over the bar in a frantic and fairly desperate ending.
And then, with the very last kick of the game, Savinho’s goal-bound effort was turned off the line heroically by Murillo.
Just how costly will this result be when all things are said and done in May?
The advantage and ascendancy is very much Arsenal’s to lose.
Man City missed chances to beat Nottingham Forest late on
Bernardo: All 50-50 decisions have gone against us
Man City midfielder Bernardo Silva to TNT Sports:
“We’re quite used to it this season. All the 50-50s have gone against us. It’s the reality I’ve just watched the Erling incident. For me, it’s a penalty.
“Some people might argue a different opinion. What can Erling do?
“We’re used to it this season. We know how it works. Our job is just to be better, because we cannot control these things. What we can control is our own performances, and that is what we need to focus on.”
Pep emphasises ‘many games to play’ in title race run-in
Man City boss Pep Guardiola:
“Still many games to play, for them [Arsenal] one less, and now it’s Newcastle. Always I think about what is next. In general it was a good performance with many good things and of course we have things to improve.
“We are playing for something as well, everyone is playing for many things.”
Asked about City’s 13 points dropped from winning positions, Guardiola said: “Maybe it is a lot. There are games where maybe we don’t deserve it.
“Today we play in general good. OK, we could stop the transition but we create a lot against a team that is so defensive. We were dynamic and we missed contact with Erling a bit, we have to look for him more but apart from that.”
On Haaland’s claim for a penalty, Guardiola said: “About that subject I spoke weeks ago. We have to do it much better. It’s our responsibility to do it better, we cannot rely on officials. It’s impossible. Nothing more to say, I’ve said it in the past.”
Pereira pleased with Forest’s versatility
Nottingham Forest boss Vitor Pereira:
“A tough game, but with a lot of personality by my team. With quality, organisation, and one less day to recover, which is not easy. Five games in 15 days with travel, and it’s not easy to perform at this level. I’m happy with my players.
“Two fantastic goals, that’s why our supporters follow us. The last minutes playing here, they push us, they try everything to get something.”
On staying outside the relegation zone: “It’s important to come here and prove we can get points everywhere. It doesn’t matter if it’s City or another club, it’s about us, how to face the opponent and believe in ourselves.
“I’ve had just two trainings with the team, because the other sessions have been to recover. In a short time, we are able to play in [different] systems. To face this level of opponent it’s important to be compact and wait for the moment to create problems.”
