MATCH REPORT AND PLAYER RATINGS - NOTTINGHAM FOREST 0-2 MANCHESTER CITY

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After riding their luck for a portion of the game, Manchester City eventually got the job done against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, with Erling Haaland marking his return to action after injury with a goal from the bench.

The Norwegian slotted into the bottom left corner after collecting Kevin de Bruyne's pass and dribbling past Murillo for his 32nd goal of the season in all competitions - a remarkable achievement for someone deemed to have underperformed this season.

Haaland's entry on the pitch came after a poor half an hour from City spanning across two halves, in which Forest were the better team, and created numerous chances.

Chris Wood miscued two efforts from close range, one of which was an open goal, and the likes of Callum Hudson-Odoi, Anthony Elanga, Neco Williams and Ola Aina threatening in the vast amount of space they were granted in wide areas.

Overall, Nuno Espirito Santos' side had 14 shots compared to City's 11, an issue that manager Pep Guardiola recognised City needed to address as early as half time.

The Blues were ahead of the break thanks to a powerful near post header from Josko Gvardiol following a De Bruyne corner, but it was by far City's least convincing half of recent times.

The first half an hour was solid yet unspectacular from City's perspective, with the middle third very poor. However, they really stepped their game up in the final section of the game, and that was largely because of Haaland's influence.

Never did I think we'd see Haaland coming on for Jack Grealish provide City more control, but that's what occurred, as City immediately took a grip of the game.

The 23 year old has the "fear factor" aura about him, occupying defenders and stretching the game as a focal point and giving more space to his teammates.

Mateo Kovacic's involvement in the second half also changed the game - he replaced the underperforming Jeremy Doku, which allowed Bernardo Silva to move out wide on the right hand side, and gave City more control and technical ability as they overwhelmed the midfield.

By the final whistle, City were playing the same formation as in their 4-0 victory against Brighton, with Kovacic, Rodri and Bernardo forming a deep lying midfield trio, the full backs pushing high and wide and a narrow front three, in Haaland, De Bruyne and Julian Alvarez (and later Oscar Bobb and Matheus Nunes for the final few minutes.)

It was a good win or City, but the day could've been better, as Arsenal jus about avoided a late scare as they beat local rivals Tottenham Hotspur at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, to keep the pressure up on the Blues.

Liverpool are essentially out of the race now as more dropped points against West Ham United leaves them five points behind Arsenal and four behind City with a game in hand, leaving it a two way dogfight between City and Arsenal for the second consecutive season.

The race is by absolutely no means over, particularly considering City still need to win at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, a feat they have never achieved since the stadium was opened in 2019.

Arsenal also have to go to Old Trafford and play Manchester United before City's trip to London, who have caused big teams issues at home this season.

Both teams deserve the title, and it appears that it's probably going to go down to the final day, unless City win their next three and Arsenal drop more points in the mean time.

They face Wolves at home in the Premier League next Saturday evening, after Arsenal play Bournemouth at home earlier in the day, both are which are games that the respective teams will be hoping to win.

Here are the player ratings from City's solid victory against Forest:

Ederson - 6.5/10 - Bullied a bit at set pieces, but his distribution and shot stopping was as good as it normally is before he was replaced at half time for an injury which we can hope isn't too serious.

Walker - 5.5/10 - Looked shaky defensively and in possession - and was even outpaced by Aina on one occasion in a footrace, in a 90 minutes to forget for City's club captain.

Akanji - 7/10 - One of City's best performers in an underwhelming first half, and continued his solid defensive performance throughout the second period as City's performance steadily improved.

Ake - 8/10 - Brilliant defensive performance from Ake, who looked impenetrable defensively and dominant in duels in the air and on the ground.

Gvardiol - 8.5/10 - Had a good game in possession, and dealt with Elanga well on the Forest right hand side. Made an excellent block from Wood's shot early in the first half, and had his own positive impact on the scoresheet with an excellent near post run and header.

Rodri - 8.5/10 - Excellent in the first half, as he barely put a foot wrong all match. Slightly more off the pace at the start of the second half (along with the rest of the team) but picked himself back up to his usual top class standard.

Bernardo - 7/10 - Sloppy in the first half playing as a holding midfielder next to Rodri, but improved in the second half on the right hand side, and helped Walker out a lot defensively on that flank.

Doku - 5/10 - After a few sublime performance from Doku, he looked poor in the first half before he was subbed against Forest, giving the ball away frequently and failing to track back effectively against Aina, often fouling his man unnecessarily.

De Bruyne - 8.5/10 - It wasn't quite working out for De Bruyne in the first half, but he nonetheless came out with an assist form a corner from Gvardiol. He sparked into life when Haaland came on, setting City's number 9 free for his goal and looking more effective in the attacking central spaces.

Grealish - 6.5/10 - Fairly quiet throughout the game, as he was played in numerous different variations of the left wing role throughout the first half (roaming inside, staying high and wide and dropping deeper to give a few examples.) The team significantly improved when he was replaced, but that was more due to Haaland's performance and entry on the pitch than anything Grealish was doing wrong.

Alvarez - 6.5/10 - Quiet for most of the game, but looked most effective when playing up top with Haaland and De Bruyne, and nearly scored with a good left footed strike just before Haaland's goal.

Substitutes:

Ortega-Moreno - 7/10 - A good performance off the bench, as the German goalkeeper distributed confidently and showed that City will literally and metaphorically be in safe hands in Ederson's absence.

Kovacic - 7.5/10 - It took a little while, but Kovacic's introduction to the pitch helped City manage out the rest of the game, with his game awareness and technical ability working wonders in increasing City's control, whilst helping Rodri with the defensive work as well.

Haaland - 8/10 - Excellent cameo off the bench from Haaland, who looked sharp and incisive from the minute he stepped foot on the pitch. Took his goal clinically, and was playing as if he could've scored many more had City not been prioritising escaping with a 2-0 win and not jeopardising the result.

Bobb - Not enough time to make an impact.

Nunes - Not enough time to make an impact.