Nottingham Forest 3-1 Manchester City result, stats and report

Nottingham Forest 3-1 Manchester City. Read that again. Forest came into this match having won none of their previous five Premier League games, shipping eight goals and scoring just two. City arrived with three wins from their last five. On paper, this was a mismatch. On the pitch, Forest made a mockery of the form book.

How It Happened

Forest were at it inside six minutes. Jair Cunha put the ball in the net with a left-foot shot and suddenly the City Ground had a pulse. City hit back quickly. Liam Delap, of all people, levelled things up with a right-foot finish on 18 minutes, assisted by Xaver Schlager. That was the script you expected. City take the lead and Forest crumble. The thing is, Forest did not crumble.

The second half was where this match was decided. City made two changes at the break, bringing on Matheus Nunes and Nico O'Reilly. Fair play to them, they needed something different. What they got instead was Rayan Cherki, playing for Forest, putting the ball in on 52 minutes with a left-foot shot to make it 2-1. City had 78% of the ball and Forest were winning the football match. That is accountability working the right way round. You earn your result when it matters.

Liam Delap then completed his brace on 73 minutes, finishing from a Morgan Gibbs-White assist, to put the game beyond City at 3-1. Forest held on. They more than held on. They deserved it.

The Numbers Tell a Brutal Story for City

Manchester City had 78% possession. They completed 665 passes to Forest's 138. They created three big chances. They missed all three. Forest created one big chance and missed none. That is the difference between a side that competed and a side that performed. City dominated the ball and lost the game. That is not a fluke result. That is what happens when you do not take your chances and your opponents do.

City managed 12 shots in total to Forest's 11. Forest had five shots on target to City's four. When you strip away all the possession and the passing percentages, Forest were right there with them in the moments that counted. City hit zero woodwork. Forest hit one. These are small margins but they go your way when your attitude is right from the first whistle.

Forest made 20 tackles to City's 13 and won 11 interceptions to City's one. One. City intercepted the ball once in a Premier League match. That tells you everything about how Forest set up and how committed they were to working hard without the ball. The basics. Twenty tackles, eleven interceptions, and they kept their defensive shape against a side that had 161 attacking actions to Forest's 64. Listen, that is not luck. That is organisation and desire.

Discipline Cost Forest but Did Not Cost Them the Match

Forest picked up four yellow cards. James McAtee was booked for a foul on 64 minutes and immediately substituted. Dan Ndoye came on and was booked himself just four minutes later. That is unacceptable. You do not come off the bench and get yourself booked within four minutes. Luca Netz was carded in added time and Igor Jesus was booked for time wasting. Four yellow cards is sloppy. It is unnecessary. Forest won the match but they made it harder for themselves than it needed to be.

The thing is, the discipline issues did not change the outcome today. But they will cost Forest points at some point this season if they carry on this way. You cannot win three-on-three situations in the final minutes if you have already burned bodies on needless bookings. That is a conversation their manager needs to have. Standards apply even when you are winning.

City Have Questions to Answer

City came into this having lost their previous two Premier League games, going down 1-0 to Brighton and 2-1 to Aston Villa. This was a third straight defeat. When you are conceding to sides in poor form and missing three big chances against a team that had not won in five, something is not right.

Phil Foden came on for Enzo Fernandez on 78 minutes when the game was already gone at 3-1. Rayan Cherki had already done the damage in the second half. City's big chances count of three with zero converted is the number that will haunt them. You have to take those. In any professional environment, you have to take those. End of.

Delap: The Cruel Irony

Liam Delap scored twice in this match. He plays for Forest. He scored two goals against the club that owns his registration and helped dump them out of a game they dominated from start to finish in terms of the ball. Listen, I do not need to add anything to that. The facts speak for themselves.

Both of Delap's goals came from inside the box. His first was set up by Schlager, his second by Gibbs-White. He was replaced by Igor Jesus on 87 minutes once the job was done. Two goals, a man of the match performance, and a result nobody predicted. That is the Premier League.

What This Means

Forest came into this match having won none of their five previous Premier League games. They had conceded eight and scored two. City arrived on the back of two defeats. Neither side was in a good place. Forest found something today that they had been missing. They competed. They pressed when they had to, they defended their box, and when their chances came they took them. City had all the ball and none of the application when it mattered.

Forest's 11 interceptions against City's one is the single most telling number from this match. That is a side that worked as a unit. That is a side that understood what the moment required. No excuses, no hiding. They got after City from the first minute and they were rewarded. Rayan Cherki's goal just after half time, Delap's second on 73 minutes, and Forest had their first win in six Premier League matches. Take the three points and move on. The attitude was there today. Keep it there.