Awoniyi Benched As N’Forest Defeat Man City To Boost Champions League Hopes
Nigerian international Taiwo Awoniyi was a used substitute as Calum Hudson-Odoi scored the only goal for Nottingham Forest in their victory over Manchester City 1-0 at the City Ground to boost their Champions League dream.
Awoniyi was brought in on the 87th minute of the match.
The hosts made life difficult for the defending champions, and Hudson-Odoi capped the team’s performance with a late goal in the 83rd minute.
The defeat is a major blow to Man City’s Champions League hopes, as Nottingham Forest consolidated their third place position with a four points lead over Guardiola’s men.
They could be out of the top four if Chelsea defeat Leicester City on Sunday.
It was their ninth league defeat of this season, as they struggled to mount a serious defense of the title they won last season.
Man City’s Pep Guardiola admitted that his team struggled to break down the hosts despite controlling the game.
He said: “Tight game, we controlled the long balls to [Chris] Wood and second balls in transition. But in the second half we lost once in transition and Callum Hudson-Odoi finished it really well.
“It is not easy to play against them. That is why they are where they are. We had three or four chances in the first half. The second half was a bit more tight. We concede one chance in the near post, so in the end the balance was for them.”
“Yes it was slow. We struggled to break the lines and find spaces.
Nottingham Forest are targeting a return to the Champions League for the first time since 1980, the man in charge of the historic quest, Nuno Espirito-Santo hailed his players for working hard to earn a vital victory.
He said: “It was a tough game everybody saw how good Manchester City are, they had us on the ropes but the boys worked very hard. Of course they were going to have chances but then it was then about us taking ours.
“It was good today. It started with Anthony [Elanga] and Chris [Wood] trying to cut the lines to give time to the back lines but definitely a very good defensive display. We tried to block and then break through the middle with Anthony.
“The focus does not change. We are on to the next one, Ipswich. It [beating City] shows the progress of the squad but there is so much football to be played. Let’s focus on the journey and move on to the next one.”
Nottingham Forest will hope to consolidate their third place position when they take on Ipswich Town on Saturday, while Man City hosts Brighton on the same day.
Awoniyi Benched As N’Forest Defeat Man City To Boost Champions League Hopes is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
