Nottingham Forest dealt a major blow to Manchester City’s Champions League hopes as Callum Hudson-Odoi struck late to secure a 1-0 victory in Saturday’s top-four clash at the City Ground.
City’s uncharacteristically poor Premier League season continues, with this being their ninth league defeat, leaving their usual top-four finish in serious doubt. Despite six league titles in seven years, Pep Guardiola’s side finds itself in an unfamiliar battle to secure a Champions League spot.
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This was City’s first league defeat to Forest since 1997, putting them in a precarious position with just a one-point lead over Chelsea, who could leapfrog them with a win against Leicester on Sunday. A fifth-place finish might still be enough for Champions League qualification, but that depends on English clubs’ performances in European competitions this season.
Meanwhile, Forest’s remarkable transformation from last season’s relegation fight continued, as they climbed to third place, maintaining a four-point cushion over City. The two-time European champions are now edging closer to their first Champions League qualification since 1980-81.
The match began with an emotional tribute to Stuart Pearce, who was hospitalised after falling ill on a flight. Forest honoured their former defender with a “Get Well Soon Stuart” message displayed on the big screen after three minutes.
A cagey first half saw few clear-cut chances, with Nico Gonzalez narrowly missing from distance, and Josko Gvardiol setting up Phil Foden, only for Nicolas Dominguez to block his shot. Bernardo Silva then wasted an opportunity, failing to spot an unmarked Erling Haaland.
Jeremy Doku forced Matz Sels into his first real save, while Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White failed to hit the target with a speculative effort. After the break, Anthony Elanga’s cross found Dominguez, whose volley forced Ederson into action.
Guardiola responded by introducing Omar Marmoush, Kevin De Bruyne, Rico Lewis, and Mateo Kovacic in an attempt to break the deadlock, but the changes had little impact as Forest grew in confidence.
City had a scare when Hudson-Odoi’s curling effort was brilliantly tipped onto the post by Ederson. De Bruyne’s free-kick was then comfortably saved by Sels before Hudson-Odoi finally broke through in the 83rd minute.
Gibbs-White delivered a perfectly weighted pass, allowing Hudson-Odoi to cut inside and smash a powerful strike past Ederson’s weak near-post save, sparking wild celebrations at the City Ground.
