Manchester City beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 yesterday to go within one point of Arsenal at the summit of the Premier League table with one game in hand.
The nervy win over Nuno Espirito Santo’s relegation-threatened side kept the title race advantage with Pep Guardiola’s City, who are chasing a fourth consecutive top flight English title.
Manchester City went ahead when Josko Gvardiol headed past Matz Sels in the 32nd minute before Erling Haaland slotted a Kevin de Bruyne ball past the Forest keeper to double the away side’s lead.
“It’s good to be back. It’s an important win. It doesn’t matter how we do it, it’s about winning,” Haaland said after the victory.
“We know where they [Forest] are in the table, we knew it was going to be a fight. The pitch wasn’t the best but we can’t complain about these things, it’s about winning and that’s exactly what we did.
“Three points. Get in. Shower. Think of the next.”
Manchester City are next in Premier League action on Saturday when they take on Wolves at the Etihad.
Title rivals Arsenal face Bournemouth earlier on 4 May while Liverpool host Tottenham in the late Sunday kick-off.
The result leaves Forest 17th in the Premier League table, just one point ahead of Luton Town in the relegation places. They face Sheffield United, Chelsea and Burnley in their last three games.
There will be some concern from the Manchester City and England camps, however, after Jack Grealish was substituted with an injury. He was later seen with his right knee wrapped in ice.
Premier League top five
PositionTeamPlayedGDPoints1Arsenal3557802Manchester City3450793Liverpool3541754Aston Villa3521675Tottenham Hotspur331560The top five