Nottingham Forest 0-2 Manchester City: Citizens defeat hosts to keep pace with Arsenal

Manchester City marked Pep Guardiola's 300th Premier League match in charge with a hard-fought 2-0 win against relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest, narrowing the gap to leaders Arsenal to just one point, despite having played an extra game.

Following Arsenal's victory in the North London derby earlier in the day, City started the match four points behind the league summit.

The reigning champions posed an early threat at the City Ground, with Kevin De Bruyne forcing Matz Sels into action before Jeremy Doku narrowly missed the target.

In response, Neco Williams tested Ederson with a shot, providing some encouragement for the Forest fans.

Unfortunately for the hosts, their early efforts were undone by a simple set-piece routine just after the 30-minute mark.

De Bruyne's well-placed corner found Josko Gvardiol, who headed the ball into the net for his second league goal.

As the first half drew to a close, Forest came close to equalizing from their own set-piece situation, but Murillo's shot went over the bar after Ederson failed to clear the ball from a corner.

This turned out to be Ederson's last involvement in the match, as he was substituted at halftime due to injury, with Stefan Ortega taking his place.

Ortega and his Man City teammates had to withstand a period of pressure from Forest, during which Gvardiol made a crucial block to deny Chris Wood from adding to his 12-goal tally.

With Forest posing a real threat, Guardiola decided to bring Erling Haaland off the bench in search of a second goal.

Knowing the importance of his role, Haaland delivered just nine minutes after coming on, shifting the ball onto his right foot and calmly slotting it into the bottom corner, sparking scenes of celebration behind Sels' goal.

Haaland's 21st goal in the Premier League season sealed Man City's first top-flight league double over Forest since 1990/91, pushing the hosts to a precarious position just one point above the relegation zone.