Nottingham Forest 3-1 Man City: Liam Delap ends City Ground goal drought as City lose three on the bounce

Liam Delap scored two as Nottingham Forest ended their goal drought in style to beat Manchester City 3-1 at the City Ground.

City had suffered back-to-back Premier League defeats but few could have expected Oliver Glasner’s side to expose them this emphatically given that Forest were goalless let alone winless at home this season. Instead, their intensity was too much for City.

Forest fans had to wait almost six months and watch eight-and-a-half hours of football here without seeing their side score, but it was a stunner when it came. Jair Cunha tracked Josko Gvardiol, dispossessed him and ran through to score with his left foot.

That came in the sixth minute but Glasner’s side were two up 12 minutes later, this time Xaver Schlager beating former Forest man Elliot Anderson to the ball in midfield and sending the powerhouse Delap through to lash in just his second goal for the club.

City looked stunned at that point and James McAtee, playing in an advanced role with crowd favourite Ryan Yates brought in for this first start of the season, might have made it three before Enzo Maresca’s men had offered anything. But there were then openings.

Enzo Fernandez should have headed in Marc Guehi’s cross. Erling Haaland rounded Matz Sels only to see that man Jair Cunha clear his goal-bound shot. But by that stage Forest had a two-goal lead to hang onto in front of watching owner Evangelos Marinakis.

Rayan Cherki halved it early in the second half with a rocket of a shot and City did push for the equaliser but Morgan Gibbs-White fed Delap on the break and his angled shot found the top corner of the net to send the City Ground wild with delight – and relief.

This long-awaited win pulls them out of the drop zone and feels like a turning point for Glasner after his recent frustrations. For City, they are the first top-flight team in 122 years to win their first seven and lose the next three. They stay six points behind Arsenal.

Glasner: I had to run more than Maresca!

While his Forest players outran City on the pitch, Nottingham Forest boss Oliver Glasner joked in the press conference that he had to do the same off it, referencing his touchline celebration for his team’s third goal.

“I had to run more than Enzo Maresca as well and I did my job.”

Asked how he felt when storming down the line, Glasner replied: “Very fast!”

There was praise too for Yates, who he credited with making an inspirational team-talk before kick-off.

“I have played more than 500 games as a player. I have managed more than 500 games as a manager. I have never heard such an inspiring speech to the team.”

But when asked if this win would be a turning point for his team, he added: “We have a saying in Austria. One swallow does not make a summer.”

Maresca: We didn’t match their intensity

Man City head coach Enzo Maresca speaking in the press conference:

“It is quite clear that the first half was not good enough. We didn’t match the intensity that these kind of games required. We conceded one, we conceded two and then we tried to react. In the second half we started much, much better. We scored one, we didn’t score any more.

“Today we didn’t match the intensity, we need to understand the reasons why.

“The second and the third goal that we conceded in transition, they are copy and paste. The second one, we lost the duel in the middle of the pitch, and the third one, we lost the duel at the edge of the box. And from there, as I said, if you make a mistake or you don’t win duels, you can concede on transition.”

Yates’ return provides Forest spark

Glasner had suggested after the loss to Brentford that the time had come to make changes. As it was, only two players came into the team for this game but one of them was particularly significant with skipper Yates making his first start of the season.

The popular midfielder personified the intensity required against City, not allowing them any time on the ball and also conducting the crowd in the rare moments when the noise levels dropped. He even helped spark the counter-attack for the dramatic third goal.

Delap was the player of the match but Yates symbolises the spirit that supporters have wanted to see from their side throughout this barren run. The celebrations upon the final whistle made this feel like a big moment. Typical that Yates should be part of it.

Do City have a tempo problem?

The question that Manchester City supporters might be asking right now is whether Yates and Xaver Schlager nipping at heels and Jair Cunha pressing up the pitch should have been enough for their side to unravel as they did. Three defeats in a row tells a tale.

Gvardiol was dispossessed for the first goal, Anderson was too weak for the second and Marc Guehi made it too easy as well. City look like a side who want to be allowed to play their football but when teams refuse to give them that time then they become unsettled.

Seven wins in a row to start the season suggested that, for all the issues engulfing City right now, it would be a seamless transition under Enzo Maresca on the pitch. But the blueprint for stopping them is now becoming clear. And that should be a major concern.