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Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw by Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Saturday, February 18.
Forest entered this contest on the back of three defeats, one win, and one draw in their last five games across competitions. They lost 2-0 to Fulham in their last league outing after conceding an early and a late goal. Hence, Steve Cooper and his team were eager to push further away from the relegation zone.
City, on the other hand, have won four and lost one of their last five games across competitions. They secured a massive 3-1 win over Arsenal to temporarily leapfrog them in the table. Pep Guardiola named a strong lineup for this game as he looked to piece together a winning streak.
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As expected, Manchester City dominated possession from the get-go as they looked to score early goals. They kept the ball for a staggering 84% of the first half, attempting nine shots on goal. They passed the ball around 397 times in just the first period, preventing Nottingham Forest from building any momentum.
After extended spells of pressure, Manchester City opened the scoring via a spectacular effort from Bernardo Silva. Jack Grealish did well to pause before passing to the Portuguese, who shot across the goal with the outside of his left foot in a display of pure technical genius. The visitors led 1-0 at the break.
Manchester City came out for the second half looking to seal the deal by extending their lead and defending it with purpose. After their utter dominance in the first period, the possession was shared slightly more equally, with Nottingham Forest keeping the ball for 38% of the time, while City had it for the remaining 62%.
The visitors attempted 14 shots, with just five of them on target. Both managers made multiple changes as they looked to alter the scoreline to snatch a late result. Morgan Gibbs-White then sent the crowd into raptures as he provided an assist for Chris Wood to score from to make it 1-1 with less than four minutes left on the clock.
Nottingham Forest held on as they secured an incredible 1-1 draw against Manchester City. On that note, let's take a look at how their players fared.
Manchester City Player Ratings
Ederson - 6/10
Ederson barely had much to do and did not make a single save throughout the game.
Kyle Walker - 7/10
Walker had a decent game and won two of his three duels. He also played one key pass, two crosses, and two long balls.
Ruben Dias - 7/10
Dias had a decent game at the heart of Manchester City's defense. He passed the ball with 95% accuracy, including six long balls. He also made one tackle.
Aymeric Laporte - 6.5/10
Laporte started in a three-man defense and put in a good performance. He played one key pass and two accurate long balls. He also attempted two shots, hitting the target on one occasion.
Rodri - 7/10
Rodri put in a combative performance in midfield as he won eight of his 10 duels. he also played one key pass and eight long balls.
Bernardo Silva - 7/10
Silva scored a stunning goal in the first period to put Manchester City ahead on the stroke of half-time. He also played two accurate crosses and two accurate long balls.
Phil Foden - 7/10
Foden put in a decent performance on the right flank, completing two key passes, two crosses, and two long balls. He also won five duels and attempted one shot on target.
Kevin De Bruyne - 8/10
De Bruyne put in a lovely performance with the ball but his teammates were unable to finish of those chances. He played four key passes, five crosses, and one long ball. He also won three duels and completed one dribble.
Ilkay Gundogan - 7/10
Gundogan had a good game and put in a strong performance. He passed the ball with 73% accuracy, including one key pass, one cross and one long ball. He also attempted three shots, hitting the target once.
Jack Grealish - 7.5/10
Grealish had a good game with the ball and played five key passes and one long ball. He blocked two shots and also won seven of his 11 duels.
Erling Haaland - 6/10
Haaland struggled to make an impact on the game as he attempted two shots, with both going wide of the mark.
Substitutes
Nathan Ake & Julian Alvarez - N/A
The pair came on late in the game and did not play enough minutes to warrant a rating.
