Nottingham Forest handed Manchester City a third consecutive Premier League defeat on Saturday, winning 3-1 at the City Ground to leave the champions six points behind leaders Arsenal heading into the international break.
Jair Cunha opened the scoring in the sixth minute before Liam Delap, a Manchester City academy graduate, scored twice — in the 18th and 73rd minutes — to stun his former club, according to TSN and Sportsnet. Rayan Cherki pulled one back for City, but Forest held on for a famous win.
City have now lost three league games in a row after opening the campaign with seven straight wins, and the defeat raises serious questions about their title defence with a third of the season gone.
Delap haunts his old club
Delap was the story of the evening. The striker, who came through City’s academy before leaving in search of regular football, was ruthless against the side that raised him, doubling Forest’s lead in the first half and then restoring the two-goal cushion after Cherki had given City hope.
Cunha’s early opener set the tone, and Forest’s energy and organisation frustrated a City side who had arrived at the City Ground desperate to end their losing run. Instead, they leave Nottingham with a third straight defeat and a growing sense of crisis.
City coach Enzo Maresca insisted afterwards that it was too early to talk about a crisis, but the numbers tell their own story: three defeats in a row, six points off the pace, and a title race that is slipping away from the champions.
Arsenal profit at the top
Forest’s win mattered most because of what happened earlier in the day. Arsenal’s narrow 1-0 win over Hull City had already opened up a gap at the top, and City’s failure to respond means the Gunners go into the international break six points clear.
Forest, meanwhile, climb away from the relegation places with a result that will live long in the memory at the City Ground. Beating the champions is one thing; beating them 3-1, with a former City academy striker scoring twice, is quite another.
What comes next
The league now pauses for two weeks for internationals, giving City time to regroup — and Maresca time to find answers. Forest will return after the break full of belief after a win that underlines how open this season’s title race has become.
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