Nottingham Forest 3-1 Manchester City: Glasner's Side Stun Slumping City

Nottingham Forest began the day in the Premier League's relegation zone and had not scored at home all season. They ended it with three goals, a 3-1 win over Manchester City, and a place outside the bottom three — sending Manchester United into it instead. Jair Cunha opened the scoring in the sixth minute with his first Forest goal, Liam Delap scored twice against his former club, and Rayan Cherki pulled one back for City in the 52nd minute. Delap's second, on 73 minutes, restored the two-goal cushion.

The scoreline sits awkwardly beside the raw numbers. City had 78 per cent possession, 12 shots to Forest's 11, seven corners to three, and an expected goals figure of 1.59 against Forest's 1.00. They also created three big chances to Forest's one. By almost every measure of territorial control, City were the better team. But Forest scored three goals from five shots on target, and their goals minus expected goals figure was 2.0, against an average of 0.0 across their earlier matches this season. That is not a sustainable formula, and nobody at the City Ground will pretend it is. What it does show is a side that took its chances with a ruthlessness that has been absent all season. Forest had scored just six league goals in their opening nine games. They matched half that total in 90 minutes.

Maresca was candid afterwards. "First half we didn't match intensity or win duels or second balls," he told BBC Match of the Day. "Always concerned but we need balance — seven in a row not happened then three in a row. Need the balance. No panic." The Italian is right that seven wins followed by three defeats is not a crisis in isolation. But the manner of this defeat — against a side that had not scored at home all season — will invite scrutiny of his approach.

For Forest, the win offers relief rather than resolution. Oliver Glasner's side had won just one of their opening nine league games, and the manager had publicly criticised his players after a 2-0 defeat to Brentford, the club's fourth loss in five. Glasner remains under pressure, and one result against a slumping City does not change that. The broader context is a club that has cycled through four managers in a year: Nuno Espírito Santo, Ange Postecoglou, Sean Dyche and Vitor Pereira all had spells in charge last season. Nuno's 2024/25 side averaged 1.71 points per game over 38 matches. Glasner's current return is 0.9 points per game over 10. The summer brought Xaver Schlager, Ousmane Diomande, Liam Delap, Lorenzo Lucca, Gustavo Sá and Daniel Muñoz, while Elliot Anderson, Morato, David Carmo, Taiwo Awoniyi, Arnaud Kalimuendo-Muinga and Gustavo Sá departed. That turnover helps explain why the balance Nuno briefly found has not returned, though it does not excuse a win rate this low.

What the match did show is that Forest can defend a lead. They conceded possession almost entirely — 22 per cent, against an average of 50.8 in their earlier matches — and made just 138 accurate passes against an average of 350.2. Their 63 opposition-half passes were well down on their 172.6 average. This was a performance built on absorption and counter-attack, not control. Whether that is a template or a one-off against a City side lacking intensity is the question the next matches will answer. Forest travel after the international break knowing that a single win has lifted them out of the bottom three but not yet changed the mood around Glasner. City, meanwhile, must rediscover the balance Maresca spoke of before the gap to Arsenal becomes insurmountable.