Rayan Cherki scored a late winner to send Manchester City top of the Premier League as they won 2-1 at Nottingham Forest.
Ahead of Arsenal’s fixture with Brighton at 3pm on Saturday, Pep Guardiola’s side left it late to edge past Forest with Cherki rifling home from the edge of the area with seven minutes left.
The flamboyant Frenchman had already assisted the opener for Tijjani Reijnders – his fifth assist of the season – but Sean Dyche’s side were always a threat and levelled when Omari Hutchinson found the net.
Cherki’s late strike proved the decisive moment as Guardiola’s side made it eight wins on the spin.
The France international had not found the net in the league since the opening day of the season but picked the perfect time to end that drought.
Forest honoured John Robertson before kick-off, remembering one of their greatest players who died on Christmas Day. The Scot helped Forest to back-to-back European Cups in 1979 and 1980 and was described by Brian Clough as “the Picasso of our game”. And they did him proud with a performance full of intent and energy as they matched their opponents throughout the game, only to be undone in the final 10 minutes.
But the way City ground out another win was an ominous sign for their title rivals.
‘We are on the hunt!’
Tijjani Reijnders speaking to TNT Sports:
“It was very important. We know a lot of clubs suffer here. I felt it as well. But a very important win. We are on the hunt.
“It was difficult to find free men in between the lines, but in the second half we were able to execute.
“Cherki is a great player, that’s for sure. When he finds space you have to be ready.
“He makes us all better players. It makes me so happy to play this way and I want to learn more and more.
“It’s good. We want to put pressure on Arsenal and we ended today in a good way.”
Cherki could be Guardiola’s joker in the pack
Sky Sports’ Lewis Jones:
Manchester City’s win at the City Ground was supposed to be about control, about the steady suffocation that has defined Guardiola’s reign. A style that has led them to so many victories like this one down the years.
Instead, it became a reminder that football still bends to the will of the unpredictable. Cherki, with a goal and an assist, bent it sharply in City’s favour. He is a maverick capable of moments that win games. Guardiola’s system thrives on predictability among team-mates and unpredictability for opponents. Cherki flips that equation.
When he picked up the ball between the lines on Saturday, there was a sense of disorder creeping into Forest’s defensive structure. His ability to escape with a swivel of the hips or a disguised touch is a thing of beauty.
He can accelerate the play too – as shown by his assist. A fifth of the season. One touch to shift the defence, another to slide Reijnders through. Cherki could just be the joker in Guardiola’s pack this season.
A star is born
Igor Jesus
Sky Sports’ Lewis Jones:
Nottingham Forest may have fallen short in the end against City, but their centre-forward Igor Jesus left with an enhanced reputation and with two of Europe’s most accomplished defenders knowing they’d been in a proper fight.
With Chris Wood sidelined following another injury setback, Forest need someone to occupy the space, absorb pressure and give their team a platform. Igor Jesus didn’t just fill the role, he owned it.
Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol, usually so serene in City’s defensive structure, spent much of the afternoon retreating, grappling and fouling – four times between them – as they struggled to contain Forest’s physical focal point.
Dias, in particular, looked rattled. Already walking a disciplinary tightrope, he was fortunate not to see red after stopping Igor Jesus as he darted in behind in the second half. On another day, with another referee, the second yellow card was there.
On this showing Igor Jesus looks capable of leading the line with authority at Premier League level. No problem.
