April 28, (THEWILL)- Manchester City kept their English Premier League title dreams alive with a 2-0 victory over relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Sunday. Josko Gvardiol’s first-half header and a late Erling Haaland strike sealed the win for Pep Guardiola’s side, who closed the gap on leaders Arsenal to just one point.
Forest had their chances in an open first half, with Chris Wood and Murillo going agonisingly close, but they failed to capitalise. Gvardiol made them pay by powering home a near-post header from Kevin De Bruyne’s corner to give City the lead. The hosts rued their missed opportunities as the reigning champions upped the pressure after the break.
Guardiola introduced the prolific Haaland for the second period, and the Norwegian marksman duly delivered in the 71st minute. After De Bruyne’s sublime through ball, Haaland was at his most predatory instincts, shifting the ball onto his right foot before slotting calmly into the bottom corner to extinguish Forest’s hopes of a comeback.
The result leaves Forest precariously perched just one point above the relegation zone after a third defeat in four games. Their defensive frailties were exposed again, having now conceded 29 first-half goals this season – the third-worst record in the league. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have also let in 23 goals from set-pieces, at least five more than any other EPL team in 2023/2024.
For City, the victory marks Guardiola’s 300th EPL game in charge and keeps them hot on the heels of Arsenal in a gripping title race. With 221 wins from those 300 matches, the Spaniard is firmly on course to deliver an unprecedented fourth successive league crown.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
