MAN CITY 2-2 NOTTM FOREST: Pep Guardiola’s side have handed the initiative for the Premier League over to Arsenal after stumbling at The Etihad
As soon as Elliot Anderson’s sweet strike hit the back of the net, Pep Guardiola dashed to study a monitor next to his bucket seat.
What he watched was a replay of Manchester City’s Premier League title hopes suffering a significant setback. There has long been a suspicion that City have been keeping this Premier League race alive without being anything like the best version of themselves.
And this was confirmation. Guardiola knew it. City just lacked a spark. There has been a lot of talk about how attractive or unattractive Premier League football has become.
You could never put City in the unattractive bracket but you could occasionally put them in the predictable bracket. But that predictability normally has a lot to do with the opposition’s set-up. Content not to have possession, a block of the lowest order, wait for the odd counter-attacking titbit, force Guardiola’s side to pick its way through a defensive mesh.
And that can be painstaking. It certainly was for half an hour against Forest, the clearest chance falling on the breakaway to Morgan Gibbs-White, who decided it was a choice between precision and power but chose neither.
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That is probably because the Forest captain is not playing with the sort of confidence that is coursing through Antoine Semenyo’s veins.
Semenyo has many attributes but, considering his record, his predatory qualities are perhaps a little under-rated. He is a thoroughbred footballer and a fox in the box. His finish from Rayan Cherki’s assist was of Sergio Aguero style and quality. It was innovative, it was instinctive.
It was a moment of ingenuity this game badly needed. Forest’s ultra-cautious approach was, of course, not unexpected, but this is a City side that can be ruffled. Guardiola believes Rodri will not be at his best for some time and, on this evidence, he is right.
Forest had joy in the centre of midfield and the move for the equaliser – finished by a fiendishly clever back-heel from Gibbs-White – emanated from that area.
In the immediate aftermath of the Forest goal, City looked spectacularly vulnerable but they went back in front with a goal Arsenal would have been proud of. Erling Haaland won the corner and then distracted Forest keeper Matz Sels, allowing Rodri to head in from close range.
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It was a topical way to score what seemed to be an important goal. But its importance was diluted by Anderson’s hit, which was sweet but was facilitated by some very slack pressing on City’s part, on Phil Foden’s part, in particular.
It was no surprise that Foden immediately made way for Jeremy Doku. But the damage had been done and, if anything, Forest looked the team more likely to go on and produce a winning goal.
In keeping with the theme of the week, a set-piece looked the most likely source of a decisive goal and both sides created half-chances in the dying stages.
But with the last dead-ball hit of the game, Semenyo’s right-footer just missed its mark and City’s hopes of another title slipped a little further away.
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