March 05, (THEWILL) — Manchester City’s English Premier League title hopes suffered a significant dent on Wednesday evening, with Manchester City dropping two crucial points in a 2-2 draw against relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest at the Etihad Stadium.
City had taken the lead through Antoine Semenyo, who volleyed home a Rayan Cherki cross in the 31st minute for his fifth goal in eight league appearances since his move from Bournemouth. Rodri then restored City’s advantage in the 62nd minute with a powerful header from a corner, yet two Forest strikes either side of that effort ultimately denied Guardiola’s side all three points.
Nigerian international ,Ola Aina, was central to Forest’s revival, outpacing Rayan Ait-Nouri before delivering a threatening cross from the right. Igor Jesus nodded the ball back into the danger zone and Morgan Gibbs-White converted with a sharp backheel on 56 minutes, before Elliot Anderson curled an outstanding finish into the bottom corner from outside the penalty area in the 76th minute to stun the home support. Savinho was denied a winner by a Murillo clearance off the line in the final moments.
The result proved doubly damaging for City following news from the south coast, where Arsenal claimed a 1-0 victory at Brighton and Hove Albion to extend their lead at the summit to seven points. The Gunners, who visit the Etihad in April, now hold the destiny of the title in their own hands in pursuit of their first English top-flight crown since 2004, despite City retaining one game in hand.
Fourth-bottom Forest remain without a league win under Vitor Pereira, yet the point claimed in Manchester offers genuine evidence that their survival fight is far from over. For City, however, the frustration of twice surrendering the lead on home soil may well define the trajectory of the rest of the season.
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.
