It would be easy to say Nuno Espirito Santo did not get things right at Manchester City. The 3-0 scoreline would certainly support that notion.
But the Nottingham Forest head coach’s team selection at the Etihad and the intent with which he sent his side out to play was a sign of both the change in mood and the continued evolution of the club.
Forest arrived in Manchester, at the home of the Premier League champions, and believed they could win.
Nuno picked a team equipped to make the most of the defensive fragility that had undermined Pep Guardiola’s side so dramatically in recent weeks.
It would have been easy to follow the same blueprint that had helped them to an unlikely 1-0 success at Anfield in September, by looking to frustrate City in the same way as they did Liverpool. But, as Nuno said after the match, Forest “went for the game”.
“When you lose 3-0 and you come in and say it was a good performance, maybe people will not understand. So I will just say that it was not a bad performance, because there were positive things for us in the game,” he said. “There were bad things; there were mistakes. But the idea of us coming and facing Manchester City, knowing the difficulties we would face, I think we tried; I think we challenged ourselves.
“We pressed, we did not sit back, we went for the game. We had chances, which we did not score. But we come out of this proud of ourselves, because we did try and this game will allow us to grow.”
Forest fielded an attacking line-up with Jota Silva and Anthony Elanga on either side of Morgan Gibbs-White, behind striker Chris Wood, in their now familiar 4-2-3-1 formation. They had positive intent.
Prior to this game, City had been giving away more high-quality scoring chances than any other side in the Premier League this season, with an xG per shot conceded of 0.17 whereas Forest had an xG per shot conceded of just 0.08.
As is sometimes the case, the outcome of this match was decided by something more black and white.
While City ended a run of seven games without a win to begin to address some serious questions that had been asked about them, Forest chose a bad moment to suffer some uncharacteristic failings.
Chris Wood had a big opportunity to make the score 1-1 and establish himself as Forest’s Premier League top goalscorer, ahead of Bryan Roy, when he found himself clean through for a one-on-one with City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega. But, for once, he missed the target.
His nine goals this season have come from just 25 shots, showing the level of finishing he has demonstrated. The New Zealand international’s shot conversion rate has been 36 per cent. He has been ruthless.
There were other opportunities. Gibbs-White was denied by a fine save from Ortega, Jota and Nikola Milenkovic had headed chances. Murillo drove a spectacular 30-yard effort narrowly wide.
Several Forest players, including Gibbs-White, had chances (Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Elanga was switched to the left side early in the game and frequently tormented the City defence; he was frequently Forest’s most dangerous source of threat. So much so that Guardiola made a tactical change at the break, bringing Kyle Walker off the bench. But Elanga still bent one shot wide and sent another dipping onto the top of the net.
What was just as costly as Forest failing to be as emphatic with their chances as City were, was the unfamiliarly generous manner in which Forest defended for the first two goals.
For the first, Ilkay Gundogan was given acres of room from which to deliver a cross from the left side, Kevin De Bruyne allowed similar amounts of freedom to head the ball back across goal and Bernardo Silva converted from close range.
The second — which came seconds after Wood had fired that golden chance wide — saw De Bruyne given the room to pick his spot from the periphery of the box. There are a long list of teams who have discovered what tends to happen when the Belgian is allowed to do that. When Jeremy Doku netted the third in the 57th minute, City had the solace of a win they had been desperate for.
But there should be solace too for Forest, even amid those unusual mistakes.
Recent defeats to Newcastle United, Arsenal and now City, suggest Forest are not quite where they want to be yet. Defensive fragility was also at the heart of what unfolded in the 3-0 defeat at the Emirates.
But their progress is unmistakable. They are far closer now than they were in two seasons of relegation trouble, which were underpinned by VAR controversies and the spectre of a points deduction hanging over them for breaching profit and sustainability regulations.
Nuno was asked, prior to the game, whether his players now believe they can come to places like City and believe they can win; whether there has been a shift in dynamic when it comes to his players feeling they have the quality to mix in this kind of company now.
“I prefer to look at it the other way around. Being able to compete well; to achieve good performances and results, that gives you the confidence and the calmness you need,” Nuno said. “It is totally different, the situation we face at Forest now. Since we arrived, we have faced a lot of problems. That is the big improvement for the players: There have been no questions, no thoughts of, ‘If this happens, what will happen to us?’. No doubts this season. Having that calmness helps us a lot.”
This was a defeat that offered another timely reminder that Forest still have much work to do if they are to regularly compete with the top teams in the country.
But it was also a night and a performance that, as Nuno put it, might help them to continue to grow.
(Top photo: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
