Liam Delap 18'
Liam Delap 73'Rayan Cherki 52'
Nottingham Forest beat Manchester City 3-1 in the Premier League at the City Ground on Saturday 7 November, despite having only 22% of the possession. Glasner’s side led 2-0 at half-time and never surrendered their advantage, while Maresca’s team managed just one reply.
Delap scores twice either side of Cherki’s reply
Jair Cunha opened the scoring in the 6th minute. Delap doubled the lead in the 18th minute, set up by Schlager, and Forest went in at the break two goals to the good.
City pulled one back in the 52nd minute through Cherki. Forest then picked up yellow cards for fouls by McAtee in the 64th minute and Dan Ndoye in the 69th, but restored their cushion in the 73rd minute. Delap again provided the finish, this time from a Gibbs-White assist.
The striker’s display earned a match rating of 8.67, the highest on the pitch, with 2 goals from 3 shots in 87 minutes. Gibbs-White was rated 7.33 after creating 3 chances for team-mates.
Forest’s lead was never seriously threatened late on. Luca Netz was booked for a foul in the fourth minute of stoppage time, and Igor Jesus was cautioned for time wasting a minute later. The hosts finished with four yellow cards. City had none.
Haaland kept quiet as City’s 753 passes count for little
City dominated the ball with 78% possession and took 12 shots to Forest’s 11. They also won 7 corners to 3 and finished with expected goals of 1.61 against 1.04. Forest, though, put 5 efforts on target to City’s 4.
Haaland, the league’s top scorer on 9 goals, did not add to his tally. Cherki was City’s best performer, rated 7.17 after scoring and creating 2 chances.
City have now lost three of their last five matches in all competitions, with earlier defeats to Brighton and Aston Villa in that run. This one stung.
Forest’s first win over City since March 2025
Forest had not beaten City since a 1-0 win on 8 March 2025. In the meetings since, City won 2-0 in the FA Cup on 27 April 2025 and 2-1 at the City Ground on 27 December 2025, before a 2-2 draw on 4 March 2026.
The result also ended a five-match winless run for Forest in all competitions, a sequence that included defeats to Brentford, Arsenal, Crystal Palace and Coventry and a draw with Ipswich.
The win takes Forest to 9 points, two more than Crystal Palace and four more than bottom side Sunderland. City stay second, 6 points behind leaders Arsenal.
Both sides return to league action on Saturday 21 November, when Forest travel to Bournemouth and City host Fulham.
Read also: Haaland strikes late as Manchester City edge RB Leipzig 3-2 in the Champions League
