Cherki stars as Man City go top with 2–1 win over Forest

NOTTINGHAM: Manchester City moved provisionally to the top of the Premier League table after a 2–1 victory over Nottingham Forest on Saturday, with Rayan Cherki scoring one goal and assisting another at The City Ground.

City climbed to 40 points, one ahead of Arsenal, who play Brighton later on Saturday. Forest remain 17th, five points above the relegation zone.

City dominated the first half but struggled to break down Forest’s compact defence, with Erling Haaland largely isolated up front. Forest’s best early chance fell to Morgan Gibbs-White, who failed to convert from close range.

City broke the deadlock three minutes into the second half when Cherki slipped a defence-splitting pass to Tijjani Reijnders, who finished from a tight angle. Forest, however, levelled six minutes later through Omari Hutchinson, who converted Igor Jesus’ cross to score his first goal for the club.

Forest then missed opportunities through Jesus and Nicolo Savona, while City were denied by goalkeeper John Victor.

City’s pressure finally told in the 83rd minute when a corner fell to Cherki, who struck a low half-volley from the edge of the box to restore the lead and seal City’s eighth straight win in all competitions.

“This is a big win. The season is long and difficult, so we just need to keep taking points,” Cherki said after the match.

Forest manager Sean Dyche criticised the match officials, calling their performance “unacceptable” and claiming Gibbs-White was fouled in the build-up to City’s winner. Pep Guardiola, meanwhile, praised his side’s resilience and described the points as “really big”.