Nottingham Forest news from NottinghamshireLive as Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola addresses his yellow card in the 1-1 draw at the City Ground
Pep Guardiola has conceded he deserved his yellow card during Manchester City’s 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest.
It proved to be an incredibly frustrating afternoon for the Premier League champions on the banks of the Trent as they were brought back down to earth with a thump following their 3-1 win at title rivals Arsenal in midweek.
City took the lead before the break through Bernardo Silva and dominated for long periods but they couldn’t find the killer second goal, with Erling Haaland spurning their best chance when he blazed over from inside the six-yard box.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola confronts the fourth official (Image: Tim Goode/PA Wire)
Haaland was involved in the incident which led to his manager getting booked in the second half. Guardiola reacted furiously to referee Graham Scott’s decision not to award a foul – and likely red card – when Haaland went down under a challenge from Joe Worrall when through on goal. Haaland seemed to down theatrically, although Guardiola questioned why the striker would go down when in such a good position.
“We don’t make any excuses. I could say many things that have happened this season. I am not a guy who is here to talk about things we cannot control,” he said of the incident.
“I don’t know, it looks like the last man, [Haaland] went to the keeper and fell down. Why would you fall down when you are one against one to the keeper?
“I was complaining to the fourth official, why would Haaland stop when he was one-on-one to score a goal? And after that I got a well-deserved yellow card.”
Felipe was outstanding as Nottingham Forest hold Manchester City
Nottingham Forest held champions Manchester City to a 1-1 draw at the City Ground, with Chris Wood scoring an equaliser late in the piece. It was Felipe who caught the eye, however, with the defender making his first start for the Reds.
This was a game that many Forest fans had written off entirely. When the teams were announced, the Reds fans looked at it with anxiety given how many Pep Guardiola had picked stellar players.
Forest did well during a first half that saw City obviously dominate possession. Bernando Silva broke Forest’s resistance on the stroke of half-time and a Reds team from earlier in the season might have folded like a cheap deckchair.
These days, Forest are a more together bunch of players, with Steve Cooper learning each game. The Reds came back out with the intention of staying strong defensively and hitting City on the counter.
Cooper’s substitutes changed the game and in the 84th minute, they got their rewards. A good team move that involved 19 passes eventually saw Morgan Gibbs-White fire a cross beyond Ederson with Chris Wood on hand to tap home.
The City Ground was sent into pandemonium. Forest’s home has often been a place of incredible atmosphere since Cooper took charge but this result might be the most important of the season.
Felipe is quality as Manchester City are held by Nottingham Forest
The 33-year-old was thrust into first-team action against the champions. He replaced Scott McKenna on the left-hand side of the back two, with the Scotland man facing months out through injury.
Felipe was up against Erling Haaland and frankly, he never gave him a kick. The former Atletico Madrid man was solid, intelligent and carried the ball out from the back extremely well.
Who Scored showed just how good he was. He made no fewer than 10 clearances and also had 45 touches of the ball throughout a 90-minute performance that belied his experienced years.
Felipe was a transfer deadline day signing. He will come up against worst strikers than Haaland this season and it’s exciting just how good the player can be for Forest over the next few months.
Source: nottinghampost.com; nottinghamforest.news
