Man City win with one less man

Midfielder Rodri received a red card but Man City still beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 to maintain their winning streak after six rounds of the Premier League.

The Etihad side pressed from the start and opened the scoring in the seventh minute through Phil Foden. The England midfielder coolly volleyed home a pass from Kyle Walker. And it took just seven more minutes for the hosts to find the net for the second time. This time, it was still an attack from the right wing when Matheus Nunes crossed just wide for Erling Haaland to head in.

Foden celebrates after opening the scoring for Man City. Photo: Man City

This is the fourth consecutive Premier League game Haaland has scored for Man City. He has scored six goals in that run and is leading the race for the league's top scorer with eight goals, double that of second-place Odsonne Edouard.

Man City continued to play an open attacking style for the rest of the first half. But Forest were undaunted. They tried to defend and relied on the independent fighting ability and the net-scoring ability of striker Taiwo Awoniyi. The match soon showed signs of tension when the referee showed four yellow cards in the first 45 minutes, including a yellow card to Pep Guardiola for protesting.

Early in the second half, the taunts between the two teams turned into a scuffle between Rodri and Morgan Gibbs-White. As a result, the Man City midfielder received a straight red card for a foul. Rodri protested, claiming that Gibbs-White was acting. However, after reviewing the VAR, referee Anthony Taylor did not reduce the punishment.

Haaland headed the ball, doubling the gap for Man City. Photo: Reuters

Playing with one less man, Man City could not dominate like in the first half. That was an opportunity for Forest to show off their attacking ability, which has been significantly improved by coach Steve Cooper this season. However, the visitors' finishing was not sharp enough for them to score.

Three-times scorer Awoniyi headed the ball over Ederson but sent it too high. Shortly after, Nicolas Dominguez tried to get a shot on the edge of the box but missed. After that, neither Awoniyi nor substitute Anthony Elanga could muster the effort.

Despite losing control of the game, Man City still had the best chance in the second half. However, Haaland tapped the ball into the sky unmarked, after a pass from Nathan Ake.

In the final minutes of the match, goalkeeper Ederson was the hero for the home team. His brilliance frustrated the Forest strikers, most impressively two consecutive saves from Elanga and Willy Boly.

This victory helps Man City maintain the record of the only team to win all six rounds of the Premier League. Next week, Guardiola's team will face Newcastle in the third round of the League Cup before visiting Wolves.

Quang Huy

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