Man City stumbles before Nottingham

Coach Pep Guardiola and his students were dumbfounded when the substitute striker Chris Wood cushioned the close to equalize 1-1 for Nottingham in the 84th minute. Wood had only entered the field five minutes earlier but left his mark with a clever move. to catch a cross from Morgan Gibbs-White on the right.

Guardiola replaced two men after the goal, Julian Alvarez replaced Kevin De Bruyne and Nathan Ake replaced Phil Foden. The previous Spanish leader did not make a substitution for 88 minutes. Man City pressed the opponent but did not create more scoring opportunities. Their most remarkable situation in the four minutes of compensation was Ake's cross from the edge of the penalty area, but Aymeric Laporte could not finish in time.

Man City's slip is partly responsible for the main striker Erling Haaland. In the 67th minute, Foden shot from the edge of the penalty area, causing goalkeeper Keylor Navas to let the ball bounce to Haaland's position. The Norwegian striker comfortably volleys in an open position but the ball bounces off the crossbar. Haaland's subsequent kick also went straight to the stands, although this time the 22-year-old star calmly controlled a beat with his chest.

Haaland has only scored one goal in the last four matches in the Premier League. The Norwegian striker previously scored four goals in four January matches. He is City's top scorer this season, with 32 goals in 31 matches in all competitions, including 26 goals in 23 Premier League games.

Besides Haaland, other stars on Man City's attack also squandered many opportunities when playing Nottingham. Early in the second half, Foden missed the situation to face Navas. The veteran keeper then blocked Laporte's header from close range, neutralizing Gundogan's tight and dangerous free-kick and De Bruyne's cut from the edge of the box.

Man City sometimes held the ball 75% of the time in the second half, forcing the entire Nottingham squad to the penalty area. The away team finished 14 times, with the ball hitting the goal five times, but could not increase the gap. Man City's only goal came at the end of the first half, when Jack Grealish set up Bernardo Silva to shoot from outside the box under Navas.

Silva's goal was also the only time Man City had finished on target in the first half - the half they kept the ball 85% of the time and finished nine times. Coach Guardiola's teachers and students have difficulty in front of a large defensive opponent. The trio of Haaland, Foden and Grealish were divided, and Gundogan and De Bruyne were not sharp enough.

A slip at the City Ground made Man City lose the top of the table to Arsenal. The defending champion has 52 points after 24 matches, two points behind the opponent and played more than one match. Man City will meet Leipzig in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 in the middle of next week, before being a guest of Bournemouth in the 25th round of the Premier League.

Nottingham Forest (4-3-1-2): Navas; Aurier (Wood 79), Worrall, Felipe, Lodi (Toffolo 79); Shelvey (Mangala 72), Freuler, Colback (Williams 58); Danilo (Ayew 58); Gibbs-White, Johnson.

Man City (3-2-4-1): Ederson; Walker, Dias, Laporte; Rodri, Bernardo Silva; Foden (Ake 89), Gundogan, De Bruyne (Alvarez 88), Grealish; Haland.