Nottingham Forest 3-1 Man City: Glasner’s rant gets its answer, as the striker Chelsea sold scores twice and Forest finally win at home

A week after Oliver Glasner tore into his players, Nottingham Forest beat Manchester City 3-1 at the City Ground, with Liam Delap scoring twice and Jair Cunha getting Forest’s first home league goal of the season.

It was Nottingham Forest‘s first Premier League win at home this season, and it lifts them out of the relegation zone. They started the day winless in five and in the bottom three. They finish it 16th, two points clear of the drop, going into the international break.

For City, it was a third straight league defeat. Enzo Maresca’s side stay second but are now six points behind Arsenal, who beat Hull 1-0 earlier in the day.

How did Forest beat Man City?

With pressure, and with City’s help. Forest went at the visitors from the first whistle, and six minutes in Josko Gvardiol took a heavy touch near his own box. Jair Cunha bundled him off the ball, strode forward and stroked a low shot into the corner past Gianluigi Donnarumma. It was the first time Forest had scored at the City Ground in the league all season.

The second came from the same intensity. Xaver Schlager won a 50/50 in midfield against Elliot Anderson, the former Forest midfielder who had been applauded by the home fans in the warm-up, and released Delap on the halfway line. The striker ran at the City defence unchallenged and lashed his finish past Donnarumma. It was 2-0 after 18 minutes, the earliest City had been two goals down in a Premier League game since November 2019.

City did have chances before the break. Jair cleared an Erling Haaland shot off the line, Milenkovic blocked from Jeremy Doku, and Enzo Fernandez headed a free chance over the bar from Marc Guehi’s cross.

Cherki’s rocket, then Delap again

Maresca took off Gvardiol and Guehi at half-time, sending on Matheus Nunes and Nico O’Reilly, and the change worked for a while. Seven minutes after the restart, Forest thought they had cleared the danger, but the ball dropped to Rayan Cherki and he met it with a half-volley that flew into the roof of the net. It was his fifth goal in his last eight Premier League games.

For the next 20 minutes City camped in the Forest half. Doku twice went close, Haaland curled one high and wide, and Glasner sent on Luca Netz and Dan Ndoye for James McAtee and Daniel Munoz to shore things up. At the other end, a Ryan Yates shot deflected off Anderson and landed on top of the net.

Then Forest broke. They won the ball back deep in their own half, Morgan Gibbs-White drove the counter and found Delap, and the striker took one touch before curling a shot that clipped the inside of the post and went in at the top corner. Glasner sprinted up the touchline to join the celebrations.

That was the end of City. Phil Foden came on for Fernandez, Yates went off to a standing ovation in his first game as captain this season and Delap made way for Igor Jesus.

Nottingham Forest 3-1 Man City: is this the response Glasner wanted?

It is hard to see how it could have been better. After the 2-0 defeat at Brentford, Glasner said he was no longer prepared to make compromises, and the week that followed made headlines for the way Forest’s boss made good on his rant.

On Saturday his players ran, pressed and fought for everything. Schlager won almost every duel in midfield, the back three of Murillo, Nikola Milenkovic and Jair handled Haaland well, and Yates was excellent in midfield. Evangelos Marinakis was there to see it, his first game at the City Ground this season.

At full-time Glasner went round every one of his players before applauding the crowd. Maresca, by contrast, did not appear to shake hands and headed straight down the tunnel.

Has Delap finally arrived at Forest?

It has been a difficult start for Delap since his summer move from Chelsea, and the price tag has hung over him. This was the game he needed. The first goal was all power, a 40-yard run with nobody able to stop him. The second was pure technique: one touch, then a curling shot into the top corner.

The options behind him are thin. Arnaud Kalimuendo, a substitute here, is wanted by Eintracht Frankfurt in January, and Chris Wood did not get off the bench. If Delap can do this regularly, Glasner has his No.9.

What does it mean for Man City?

More questions for Maresca. The first two goals came from basic errors, a heavy touch from Gvardiol and Anderson losing a 50/50, and the third came from a counter-attack with City’s full-backs high and wide. City had not conceded three to a side starting the day in the relegation zone since September 2019, against Norwich.

Three league defeats in a row is unfamiliar territory for Manchester City, and a six-point gap to Arsenal is a lot to make up with the international break coming.

Verdict: a turning point for Forest

One win does not fix a season, and Forest were hanging on for long spells of the second half. But a first home win, first home goals and a victory over the side second in the table is exactly what Glasner needed to show his methods can work.

The test now is doing it again after the break, against sides that will not give them as much space as City did. On this evidence, with Delap firing and the City Ground this loud, Forest look like a side that belongs well clear of the bottom three.