Heroic Cherki saves pale City and propels them to the EPL top

We can't know precisely what Pep Guardiola wanted to see from his team today at City Ground, but we can with certainty say he won't like the performance his lads put in. Still, one Cityzen ready to play, Rayan Cherki, was enough to overcome Nottingham Forest and take the Premier League top, at least until Arsenal play their game - 2-1.

After throwing the opening half out the window, the goalless draw shortly turned into 1-1, as Tijjani Reijnders and Omari Hutchinson scored once on each side between the 48th and 54th minutes.

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Guardiola tried to mix things up by subbing on Savinho, and inspire pale Phil Foden and Erling Haaland, but, in the end, Cherki turned out to be the solution for all the Spaniards' troubles.

The Frenchman of Algerian descent first set up Reijnders' deadlock-breaker, and then netted the winner in the 83rd minute, for Man City's critical victory on a "hostile" away turf., though the public will probably hear the Trees' comments about Robert Jones' officiating and a missed chance to send Ruben Dias off.

Manchester City's games in the ongoing season were anything but "snoozefests". Goals, chances, rhythm, pace, nice moves, and actions - those were all trademarks of their style. However, the opening 45 minutes of the clash at City Ground brought none of the above, providing the crowd in Nottingham with one of the dullest first halves they had seen.

As if they were still caught up in the holiday fever, the Cityzens were slow and uninspired, allowing Forest to impose a rhythm that perfectly worked in their favour. Long balls and the striker Igor Jesus' persistence in duels with the visitors' centre-backs unsettled Pep Guardiola's men, who made six attempts, but none dangerous and none on target.

Less than a minute into the second half, the fans finally got to see something exciting, as Ruben Dias seriously risked a second yellow card, taking down Jesus, but the referee Robert Jones spared the Portuguese a dismissal. Just about two minutes later, the Cityzens broke the deadlock!

The outstanding Rayan Cherki slipped a fantastic pass through to Tijjani Reijnders, who took no prisoners, opening the scoring from a promising situation. The former Olympique Lyon playmaker could have doubled the lead himself minutes later, but Forest custodian John Victor made a superb stop.

However, the Cityzens' joy lasted for only six minutes, as the Trees almost instantly bounced back! Morgan Gibbs-White and Callum Hudson-Odoi initiated a hasty counterattack, Jesus recorded an assist with a timely cross, and Omari Hutchinson netted his first goal of the season, levelling the score.

In the 73rd minute, Victor stopped Phil Foden's dangerous effort, but as the end ref's final whistle approached, the visitors were putting a stronger pressure on Forest. And it paid them off seven minutes before the end, when their saviour, Cherki, netted the vital winner, following a melee in the Trees' box after a corner kick. Sean Dyche's men demanded a foul in a build-up play, but alas... VAR saw nothing wrong.

At that point, there was no way back for the home team, as the Manchester side recorded its seventh consecutive triumph in all competitions, once again demonstrating a ruthless form they are in.

PREMIER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 18

Friday

Manchester United - Newcastle 1-0 (1-0)

/Dorgu 24/

Saturday

Nottingham Forest - Manchester City 1-2 (0-0)

/Hutchinson 54 - Reijnders 48, Cherki 83/

18.00: (1.42) Arsenal (4.50) Brighton (7.75)

18.00: (2.30) Brentford (3.45) Bournemouth (3.05)

18.00: (4.00) Burnley (3.35) Everton (2.00)

18.00: (1.23) Liverpool (6.50) Wolverhampton (12.0)

18.00: (2.70) West Ham (3.35) Fulham (2.65)

20.30: (1.90) Chelsea (3.50) Aston Villa (4.10)

Sunday

17.00: (2.60) Sunderland (3.15) Leeds (2.85)

19.30: (2.35) Crystal Palace (3.35) Tottenham (3.05)

***odds are subject to change***