Manchester City 0 Nottingham Forest 1: City player ratings as City lose ground in the Champions League battle.

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·8 marzo 2025

Manchester City 0 Nottingham Forest 1: City player ratings as City lose ground in the Champions League battle.

Manchester City 0

Nottingham Forest 1 (Callum Hudson-Odoi 83′)

Here are the City player ratings as Manchester City fell to a frustrating 1-nil defeat to Nottingham Forest at the City Ground. Pep Guardiola picked an attacking lineup which had plenty of pace up front in a bid to get at Nuno Espirito Santo’s side. But that mattered little as Forest neutralized the City threat and won the game with an 83rd-minute Callum Hudson-Odoi goal.

First half

The game kicked off with the City Ground in full voice as the Nottingham Forest fans were up for the visit of the current Premier League champions. Based on the atmosphere the Forest fans were generating you did get the sense that Manchester City would have to be at their best against a hungry opponent.

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After Nottingham Forest made a bright start to the game the first chance of the game came to Manchester City in the 7th minute. Chris Wood was dispossessed on the edge of his own area by Erling Haaland. City’s number 9 powered into the box and his right-footed shot went just wide of the post. Nottingham Forest keepers Matz Sels did look to be scrambling as the ball went narrowly wide of the post.

In the 14th minute, Nico would strike the post with a rocket from 25 yards out. Nico’s strike deserved more than sailing into the post. The strike was Rodri-esque but you could see that Pep Guardiola’s side was growing into the game.

After a lively opening 15 minutes, the game fell into a holding pattern.

Following Nico’s strike the game fell into a holding pattern. Manchester City were looking calm and poised in possession but were struggling to break down the Nottingham Forest defence. Forest was looking to defend deep and hit City on the counter. Up until the half-hour mark, that pattern of play was seeing both teams cancel each other out. Although Pep Guardiola’s side was looking the more threatening of the two team’s it must be said.

In the 35th minute, Bernardo Silva skied a shot over from just inside the area after a nice cross by Phil Foden from City’s left-hand side. Tellingly, although City had created 6 shots, they hadn’t managed a shot on target at that stage of proceedings.

Jeremy Doku would have the first shot on target of the afternoon in the 42nd minute. He neatly created an opportunity for himself but his shot from just outside the box was easily saved by Matz Sels in the Forest goal. Chris Wood would have Nottingham Forest’s first shot on target a minute later after a swift Forest counter attack but his chip was easily collected by Ederson.

The game would go into the interval delicately poised at nil-all. Manchester City had the better of possession and territory but Nottingham Forest defended well to keep City out in a drab first half.

Second half

Manchester City kicked off the second half looking to turn their possession dominance into something more substantial. The biggest change from Pep Guardiola was the fact that Jeremy Doku and Savinho swapped wings with Doku on the the right and Savinho on the left. But it would be Nottingham Forest who would have the first shot on target in the 47th minute. An Anthony Elanga cross was met by Nicolas Dominguez at the back post. But his volley was hit straight at Ederson from a tight angle.

Manchester City’s first chance of note for the second half fell to Ruben Dias in the 61st minute. The Manchester City captain made a driving run and played a neat one-two with Phil Foden. He found himself in a good position, but his shot was straight at Matz Sels, who saved with ease. But despite City having their first chance of the second half, you did sense that Nottingham Forest was becoming the more dangerous team going forward. A desperate block from Abdukodir Khusanov on a Morgan Gibbs-White shot in the 63rd minute prevented a shot on target.

Ederson makes a stunning save to keep the score nil-all.

In the 67th minute, Ederson made a stunning save from a shot from Callum Hudson-Odoi. The Nottingham Forest winger carved out the opportunity with some clever footwork, and Ederson tipped his goal-bound shot onto the post. It was a stunning save from Ederson, especially considering he was unsighted due to a plethora of players in his line of sight.

Kevin De Bruyne curled a left-footed shot over from just inside the Nottingham Forest area in the 71st minute. The chance came after a spell of Manchester City possession but De Bruyne’s shot wasn’t on target as the game remained goalless.

Callum Hudson-Odoi gives Nottingham Forest the lead.

In the 83rd minute, Nottingham Forest would take the lead. A sublime cross-field ball from Morgan Gibbs-White found Callum Hudson-Odoi in acres of space on the right wing for Nottingham Forest. Hudson-Odoi got himself into the box and his shot beat Ederson at his near post via a deflection off of Josko Gvardiol to give Forest the lead. Pep Guardiola’s side had it all to do in the game’s closing stages to try and at least find an equaliser.

In the 91st minute, Mateo Kovacic fired a volley wide after a poor clearance from Morgan Gibbs-White. Gibbs-White clearance fell to the Croatian international but his shot beat Matz Sels and the post.

That would be Manchester City’s last chance of the game as the final whistle was greeted with raucous celebrations from the Nottingham Forest fans. Pep Guardiola’s side had their moments but their lack of any cutting edge in the final third cost them.

Summary

The City player ratings reflect the nature of Manchester City’s performance. Defensively, City weren’t bad, but in the final third, they were poor. Credit must go to the Nottingham Forest defence but City’s lack of any end product cost them dearly. The City player ratings reflect this fact.

City player ratings

Ederson-7/10: His rating would have been higher if not for the manner of the goal he conceded. However, it must be said that his save from Hudson-Odoi kept Manchester City from falling behind earlier than they did.

Matheus Nunes-6/10: Toiled away and slotted into midfield when Manchester City had possession. He wasn’t City’s worst player but two badly misplaced passes from Nunes in the first half do stand out. That’s what he has to improve in his game to make it at Manchester City.

Abdukodir Khusanov-8.5/10: Manchester City’s man-of-the-match for me. He defended superbly and several of his blocks and challenges were outstanding.

Ruben Dias-7/10: A captain’s performance from Dias. The defence wasn’t City’s problem. The other end of the pitch was.

Josko Gvardiol- 7/10: Did his job well and was unlucky to see Forest’s winner deflect in off him.

Nico-7/10: I thought Nico was good in possession and helped City dictate possession, especially in the first half. He was taken off on the hour mark, and you did feel that it was because he was on a yellow card.

Bernardo Silva-5.5/10: Toiled away but wasn’t at his best. But to his credit, he never stopped working.

Savinho-4/10: He had opportunities to make a difference in the game, but it just wasn’t his day. The best word to sum up his performance at the City Ground is frustrating.

Phil Foden-4/10: Another subdued performance from Foden. He couldn’t get into the game at all before he was substituted.

Jeremy Doku-4/10: Doku had the same type of game as that of Savinho. He had his opportunities but had no end product.

Erling Haaland-4/10: No service, no Erling Haaland. That’s not a knock on Haaland, but that’s what we saw today, as he had nothing to feed off during the game.