Key Highlights
Nottingham Forest produced a stunning victory at The City Ground, beating Manchester City three goals to one in a result that felt like an upset. Liam Delap scored twice and was named Player of the Match in front of a crowd of more than 30,000 people.
First Half
Nottingham Forest began in a three four two one with Ryan Yates captaining and Liam Delap leading the line, and they set out to be compact and dangerous rather than possess the ball. Manchester City carried most of the possession but, by the momentum assessment, the game was evenly balanced before the interval because Forest repeatedly threatened in transition. Jair Cunha forced an early save and then opened the scoring in the sixth minute with an unassisted left foot finish, and Forest’s clearest spell between the seventeenth and the twenty second minute produced a fast break finished by Delap from a Xaver Schlager assist in the eighteenth minute. City created openings of their own, including a very good headed opportunity for Enzo Fernández that flashed wide and two saved efforts from Erling Haaland, but Forest’s sharp, direct moments left them leading by two goals to nil at half time.
Second Half
Manchester City began the second half on the front foot and Rayan Cherki reduced the deficit with an unassisted left foot strike in the fifty second minute. From the fifty third to the sixty fourth minute City produced their clearest spell but, despite enjoying around eighty one percent of possession in the second half, they could not find an equaliser. City had a number of attempts and a clear opening but were repelled, while Forest’s substitutions helped restore solidity and left space for counterattacks. That space was exploited when Morgan Gibbs-White set up Delap for a left foot finish in the seventy third minute, and Nottingham Forest held on to win by three goals to one.
Closing Thoughts
The victory is a vital boost for Nottingham Forest, who remain nineteenth in the table with six points from nine matches; Oliver Glasner’s side are still in the relegation places but will take confidence as they travel to AFC Bournemouth on November twenty first, two thousand twenty six. For Manchester City, who stay second, the result raises uncomfortable questions: prolonged control and a huge passing advantage did not produce the breakthrough they needed and Enzo Maresca must now steady a side whose recent league form has become fragile. City return home to host Fulham on November twenty first, two thousand twenty six. The match underlined a clear lesson for both teams: clinical finishing and pace on the break can overturn volume of possession, and Delap’s clinical moments provided Nottingham Forest with a rare and valuable win.
