Nottingham Forest dealt a major blow to Manchester City’s bid to qualify for the Champions League as Callum Hudson-Odoi’s late winner sealed a 1-0 victory for the home side on Saturday.
City have been reduced to battling for a place in next season’s Champions League after a dismal campaign.
With six titles in the past seven seasons, City have rarely had to worry about their place in the Premier League’s top four in the Pep Guardiola era. Yet they left the City Ground looking anxiously over their shoulders after a first league loss to Forest since 1997.
Manchester City players appear dejected as they walk off the field following their loss to Nottingham Forest on Saturday. Pics/Getty Images
Fifth-placed Chelsea, just one point adrift of City, will go above the champions if they beat lowly Leicester on Sunday.
Finishing fifth could still be enough for City to reach Europe’s elite club competition depend on the results of the English clubs who remain in continental competitions this term. However, for City to achieve that goal, they will have to shown signs of significant improvement.
Notts’ fairytale continues
Third-placed Forest are enjoying a fairytale season just a year after battling relegation, the former European champions are closing on a Champions League berth for the first time since 1980-81.
Forest rained down fire and brimstone in a stirring finale that followed a tepid first half.
Midfielder Nicolas Dominguez was the first to test City goalkeeper Ederson after the interval with a volley, as City struggled to conjure any clear-cut chances.
Hudson-Odoi then fired a warning shot at City in the 68th minute as he cut inside from the left and let fly a drive that was met with an excellent save from Ederson who deflected it onto the post.
Pep’s subs fail
Guardiola then sent on Omar Marmoush, Kevin De Bruyne, Rico Lewis and Mateo Kovacic in a bid to spark City to life, but to no avail.
Hudson-Odoi was not to be denied in the 83rd minute as Morgan Gibbs-White found him on the right with a cross-field pass enabling the forward to drill one past Ederson’s near post.
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