A fit and firing Manchester City star helped seal victory over Nottingham Forest

A fit and firing Manchester City star emerged off the bench yesterday to seal a precious three points for the champions over Nottingham Forest. Erling Haaland made his presence felt as his second half goal secured the champions a vital 2-nil win at the City Ground.

City’s number 9 had missed the world champions' past two games with a minor muscle injury. During his absence, Pep Guardiola’s side had overcome Chelsea and Brighton while Haaland recovered from injury. But when the striker was introduced on the hour mark against Nottingham Forest, his impact was noticeable as soon as he stepped foot on the pitch.

With the champions struggling to contain a determined Nottingham Forest side yesterday, Haaland’s introduction turned the game in City’s favour. Nuno Espírito Santo’s side had looked like they could take a point of more from Manchester City for large portions of yesterday’s game. If not for some poor finishing from Chris Wood, the game could’ve turned out quite differently.

As soon as Erling Haaland came on, the champions had a presence up front. His introduction sparked Kevin De Bruyne to life, and Julian Alvarez also looked a different player with Haaland on the pitch. It was the combination of De Bruyne and Haaland, who sealed all three points for the champions in the 71st minute. After Manchester City had held possession to put a half to Nottingham Forest’s momentum, De Bruyne played Haaland through for the Manchester City star to cooly finish the move to seal a precious victory. The finish from Haaland was reminiscent of last season as once he was played through, it was never in doubt that he’d score.