Nottingham Forest 0-2 Man City: Erling Haaland on target as gap closed to Arsenal in title race | OneFootball

Erling Haaland has scored 21 Premier League goals this season

Mike Egerton/PA Wire

Erling Haaland came off the bench to score as Man City beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 to remain in control of the Premier League title race.

Arsenal’s win over Tottenham earlier in the day had piled the pressure back on the Pep Guardiola’s side, who knew even a draw would leave the Gunners in pole position heading into the final weeks of the campaign.

There was to be no slip-up though, as Josko Gvardiol headed the visitors in front in the first-half, before Haaland scored with 20 minutes remaining to ease any nerves in the away end at the City Ground.

The champions sit just a point behind Arsenal and with a game in hand, away to Tottenham in the final week of the season. Four more wins and it will be a fourth title on the bounce for City.

Both goals were assisted by Kevin De Bruyne, the first a simple corner clipped to the near post, where Gvardiol has made his run and duly powered a header beyond Matz Sels.

Forest were impressive though and should really have been level at the break, with Chris Wood swinging at thin air when the ball fell to him six yards out, and Murillo flicking an effort off the top of the bar as Ederson dropped the ball from a corner.

It was more of the same early in the second-half, Wood again wasteful. This time Anthony Elanga skipped to the byline, cut the ball back perfectly to his striker, but the effort that followed was a scuffed one and Gvardiol did the clearing job.

The match remained in the balance until Haaland’s intervention, within ten minutes of his introduction. De Bruyne played the pass into his path, Haaland worked it onto his right foot in the box and just rolled a finish into the far corner, a 21st Premier League goal of the season to move him clear at the top of the Golden Boot standings.