Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City: Guardiola's men go top of Premier League table after win over Tricky Trees

Manchester City have clearly found a new star man in Rayan Cherki after the summer signing produced another stellar performance in the 2-1 Premier League win over Nottingham Forest.

The France international provided the assist for Man City's opener and then scored a late winner for the Cityzens after Omari Hutchinson had drawn the sides level.

Forest, wearing black armbands in tribute to club legend John Robertson, nearly struck early when Callum Hudson-Odoi delivered a dangerous cross that Morgan Gibbs-White failed to connect with. 

That proved to be one of the few openings before the break, as Forest’s disciplined defensive structure successfully stifled a City side that had scored in the first half of their previous seven matches. 

Neither team managed a shot on target in a subdued opening 45 minutes and went into the break deadlocked at 0-0.

The game burst into life shortly after the restart when Tijjani Reijnders gave City the lead, timing his run perfectly to meet Rayan Cherki’s clever pass and finishing calmly past John Victor. City pressed for a second, with Cherki going close himself, but Forest responded well under pressure. 

Their equaliser was the result of patient build-up play, with Hudson-Odoi and Gibbs-White combining before Igor Jesus teed up Omari Hutchinson, who swept home his first goal for the club.

Just as Forest looked set to claim a valuable point, Cherki struck late, firing a low shot from a recycled corner through Gibbs-White’s legs and beyond Victor. 

The winner secured City’s eighth straight victory in all competitions, lifting them top of the table, while Forest remained just above the relegation zone.