On 23 September one of the matches of the 6th round of the English football championship took place. Man City (England) and Nottingham Forest (England) met.
English Championship, 6th round
Man.City (England) - Nottingham Forest (England) - 2:0 ( 2:0)
Goals: P. Foden (7), Holand (14)
Warnings: Akanji (18), P. Guardiola (19), Nuno Tavares (21), Sangare (45+1), Gibbs-White (46), T. Awoniyi (58), Ederson (58), O. Mangala (77), Divock Origi (81), Gonzalo Montiel (90+4), Grealish (90+4).
Manchester City hosted Nottingham Forest at the famous Etihad Stadium in a thrilling Premier League encounter. The match ended 2-0 in favour of Manchester City, which left the fans jubilant. The match started with both teams showing their attacking qualities from the first minutes. Manchester City didn't open the scoring right away - already in the 7th minute Phil Foden struck the opponents' goal to the delight of the fans. The young talented midfielder showed his finishing skills and gave his team the lead. Nottingham Forest tried to prevent their opponents from gaining the upper hand, but their efforts failed. In the 14th minute, Manchester City doubled their lead thanks to a goal by Erling Haaland. The Norwegian striker once again proved his worth by calmly slotting the ball past the Forest goalkeeper. As the first half progressed, the tension on the pitch grew, leading to a flurry of yellow cards. Manuel Akanji and Pep Guardiola, as well as Nottingham Forest's Nuno Tavares each received a yellow card for their actions. The referee, in a bid to keep control of the situation, had already made himself known at the start of the match. "Nottingham Forest tried to react and change their approach to attack. In the 39th minute, Tavares was replaced by Goncalo Montiel as the visitors looked for fresh energy to counter-attack. However, their luck didn't change at the end of the first half and there was a controversial moment at half-time that shocked fans of both teams. Just a few seconds after the start of the second half, Manchester City's Rodri received a red card, leaving his team with ten men.
This decision drastically changed the dynamics of the match and put Nottingham Forest in a position to win the game back. Using their numerical advantage, Nottingham Forest persevered to get a goal. It seemed that salvation was at hand when Manchester City's Ederson received a yellow card in the 58th minute. However, despite their best efforts, the visitors failed to turn the tide. Both managers made tactical changes to save the game for their teams. Manchester City introduced Jérémy Doku into the game in the 51st minute in place of Kyle Phillips, hoping to give the attack a new impetus. Nottingham Forest also introduced Charlie Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga in place of Serge Aurier and Ismael Sangare in the 56th minute. As the minutes ticked towards the end, Nottingham Forest made two more substitutions to spark a late surge. Taiwo Awoniyi and Divock Origi replaced Chris Wood and Ola Aina in the 75th minute. However, their attempts to regain the lead proved futile. At the climax of the match, both sides continued to battle fiercely. In the 87th minute, Manchester City made one last substitution, replacing the scorer Phil Foden with Jack Grealish. Sensing that time was running out, Forest began to press even further. Their determination was evident as they received two more yellow cards in the final minutes of the game as Ola Aina and Goncalo Montiel were cautioned. The tense game ended in a 2-0 victory for Manchester City. The City fans praised the performance of their team, who showed both skill in attack, resilience in defence and the ability to hold on to the lead despite having fewer players. This match will surely be remembered as another thrilling spectacle between two Premier League teams. Both Manchester City and Nottingham Forest showed great determination and skill, leaving the fans enthralled until the final whistle.
The following matches await the rivals in the next round: Wolverhampton vs Man City, Nottingham Forest vs Brentford.
| Manchester City | Nottingham Forest | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Kicks in the box | 3 |
| 7 | Kicks | 10 |
| 2 | Blocked shots | 4 |
| 4 | Penalty kicks | 5 |
| 3 | Kicks from outside the penalty box | 5 |
| 5 | Offences | 16 |
| 6 | Corner | 6 |
| 0 | Offsides | 3 |
| 59% | Ball possession | 41% |
| 3 | Yellow cards | 7 |
| 1 | Red cards | 0 |
| 3 | Keeper saves | 2 |
| 558 | Total assists | 385 |
| 503 | Accurate assists | 329 |
| 90% | Transmission accuracy | 85% |