Manchester City 3-0 Nottingham Forest: De Bruyne stars as hosts end winless run

Manchester City returned to winning ways with an assured 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.

Pep Guardiola’s side came into the game having lost four Premier League matches on the bounce, and they were on a seven-match winless run in all competitions.

But goals from Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku earned the champions a much-needed victory.

De Bruyne assisted Silva’s early close-range opener before doubling City’s lead just after the half-hour mark, giving Matz Sels no chance with his powerful strike.

Doku rounded off a confidence-boosting display for the hosts in the 57th minute, finishing off a brilliant counter-attack with a fine curling shot as City earned their first win since October 26.

City’s victory saw them move back into the top four and reduce their gap behind leaders Liverpool to nine points, while a third loss in four games leaves Forest on 22 points.

FULL-TIME | Victory!

3-0 #ManCity | @okx pic.twitter.com/RSTIgt65w4

— Manchester City (@ManCity) December 4, 2024

Data Debrief: A welcome return

City have made more changes to their starting line-ups than any other team in the Premier League this season (37), making 3+ changes in seven consecutive league games within the same season for the first time since May 2021.

However, Guardiola once again found a winning formula against Forest, with De Bruyne’s return perhaps the most influential – he has now been directly involved in 13 goals in his last 15 Premier League starts (five goals, eight assists).

The victory ends a run of four consecutive league defeats for City, picking up their first top-flight win in 39 days; this was their longest gap between league victories in a season since waiting 41 days between January and February 2015 (excluding World Cup and Covid-19 breaks).

As for Forest, they remain winless away from home against City in the Premier League (D3 L3), only travelling to Arsenal (D2 L6) more often without ever tasting victory in the competition.