Manchester City drew 1-1 against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Saturday 18 February.
Forest entered this contest with three losses, one win and one draw from their last five games in all competitions. They lost 2-0 to Fulham in their last league outing after conceding an early and a late goal. However, Steve Cooper and his team were eager to move further out of the relegation zone.
City, on the other hand, have won four and lost one of their last five games in all competitions. They secured a massive 3-1 win over Arsenal to temporarily top them in the table. Pep Guardiola named a strong lineup for this game as he looked to put together a winning streak.
TEAM NEWS 
π TEAM NEWS π XI | Ederson, Walker, Dias, Laporte, Bernardo, Rodrigo, De Bruyne, Gundogan (C), Foden, Grealish, Haaland SUBS | Ortega Moreno, Phillips, Ake, Γlvarez, GΓ³mez, Akanji, Mahrez, Palmer, Lewis#City man | @HaysWorldwide https://t.co/DmNINBJWkE
Unsurprisingly, Manchester City dominated possession from the start as they looked to score early goals. They held the ball for a staggering 84% of the first half, attempting nine shots on goal. They passed the ball around 397 times in the first period alone, preventing Nottingham Forest from building momentum.
After long periods of pressure, Manchester City opened the scoring with a spectacular effort from Bernardo Silva. Jack Grealish did well to pause before moving past the Portuguese, who fired across with the outside of his left foot in a display of sheer technical genius. The visitors led 1-0 at halftime.
π― Manchester City ππ’ππππππ£ππ₯ Ederson completed more passes (12) than any Nottingham Forest player in the first half at the City Ground… https://t.co/HRjTysbyx2
Manchester City came out in the second half looking to seal the deal by extending their lead and defending it with determination. After their absolute dominance in the first period, possession was shared a bit more evenly, 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 only five of them on target. Both managers made multiple changes as they looked to upset the score for a late result. Morgan Gibbs-White then sent the crowd into ecstasy when he provided an assist for Chris Wood to score to make it 1-1 with less than four minutes remaining on the clock.
Nottingham Forest held on and 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 didn’t make a single save the entire game.
Kyle Walker- 7/10
Walker had a decent game and won two of his three games. He also played a key pass, two crosses and two long balls.
Ruben Dias – 7/10
Dias had a decent game at the heart of Manchester City’s defence. He passed the ball with 95% accuracy, including six long balls. He also made an entrance.
Aymeric Laporte – 6.5/10
Laporte started in a three-man defense and put in a good performance. He played a key pass and two accurate long balls. He also attempted two shots, hitting the mark once.
Rodri – 7/10
Rodri turned in a combative performance in midfield, winning eight of his 10 games. he also played a key pass and eight long balls.
Bernardo Silva – 7/10
Silva scored an impressive first-half goal to put Manchester City ahead at 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 a shot on goal.
Kevin De Bruyne – 8/10
De Bruyne put in a great performance on the ball but his teammates couldn’t finish off those chances. He played four key passes, five crosses and one long ball. He also won three duels and completed a dribble.
Ilkay Gundogan – 7/10
Gundogan had a good game and had a great performance. He passed the ball with 73% accuracy, including a key pass, a cross and a long pass. He also attempted three shots, hitting the target once.
Jack Grealish- 7.5/10
Grealish played well on the ball and played five key passes and one long ball. He blocked two shots and also won seven of his 11 games.
Erling Haaland – 6/10
Haaland struggled to make an impact in the game as he attempted two shots, both off the mark.
substitutes
Nathan Ake and Julian Alvarez – N/A
The pair entered the game late and did not play enough minutes to warrant a grade.
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