Manchester City end 7-match winless run by cutting down Forest
Manchester City saw their seven-match winless run in all competitions come to an end. Pep Guardiola's men cut down Nottingham Forest at the Etihad in matchweek 14 of the Premier League 2024-25 season. Goals from Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku helped the champions taste victory and also come out with a clean sheet. Here are records made and match analysis.
City go to half-time with a comfortable 2-0 lead
City went ahead in the 8th minute. IIkay Gundogan provided a dinked pass toward an incoming De Bruyne. The Belgian headed the ball toward goal where Silva got there to claim bragging rigts. Chris Wood missed a glorious chance for Forest as he shot wide after De Bruyne gave the ball away. The latter made Forest pay with a superb strike from Doku's assist.
1st half match stats
City had four shots on target compared to Forest's two. Guardiola's side owned 1.83 expected goals with Forest managing 0.67. City had 23 touches in the opposition box. Forest managed 10 such touches. City had 67% ball possession as well.
Doku's 2nd-half goal sees City get the job done
Forest did a reasonable job after half-time before Doku punished them. The winger ran down the left before cutting in and sending a curling finish past the Forest keeper. Erling Haaland had a key role in that goal, playing a lovely weighted pass and it was his run that drew defenders away to create space. City got the job done and killed the contest.
Key numbers for City's key scorers
De Bruyne provided an assist for the opener before scoring the 2nd. He has raced to 114 assists and 70 goals in the Premier League from 268 matches. Making his 247th Premier League appearance, Portuguese star Silva now owns 40 goals (A45). He scored his first league goal this season. Doku is now involved in 15 Premier League goals (G5, A10).
Here are the match stats
City had seven shots on target compared to Forest's three. Guardiola's side owned 2.41 expected goals with Forest managing 0.88. City had 42 touches in the opposition box. Forest managed 15 such touches. City had 66% ball possession as well.
City post their third clean sheet of the season
City posted just their 3rd clean sheet of the Premier League season. After 14 matches, Guardiola's men have won 8 games (2 L4). City have forwarded 25 goals. Notably, City bounced back from four straight Premier League defeats.
