Manchester City scurried to a 2-0 away win over Nottingham Forest to keep the pressure on Arsenal in the Premier League title race.
A brace of assists from Kevin De Bruyne enabled Josko Gvardiol and Erling Haaland to secure all three points for City against the Tricky Trees.
However, it was a slim escape for the Premier League champions at City Ground. Nottingham Forest came across clearcut chances that would have twisted the game but missed them.
New Zealand forward Chris Wood was a villain in the game after two incredible misses that would have turned things around for the home side.
He trended on social media for the awful misses and was particularly blamed for the Tricky Trees’ capitulation against City.
However, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola seemed to defend the New Zealander when making references to the missed chances by the hosts.
Speaking in post-match press conference, the Spaniard said Chris Wood’s misses weren’t intentional but due to the nature of the turf.
The former Barcelona manager passed City’s victory as luck due to the dryness of the pitch.
‘’We were so lucky the pitch was dry and hard. With better pitch conditions they would have scored.
‘‘There was nothing wrong with it but the fact it was dry helped us. We were lucky because, with the chances they had, they could not make good contact with the ball because of the pitch. This game was dangerous – the toss of a coin,” he said.
Manchester City moved a point close to Arsenal at the top of the table after the win with a game in hand.
The European champions are setting their eyes on breaking the Premier League record by becoming the first team to win the Premier League four times consecutively if they pip Arsenal to the title.
