Manchester City twice squandered the lead at the
Etihad Stadium, allowing fourth-bottom Nottingham Forest to fight back to a 2-2
draw on Wednesday, leaving the Premier League title race firmly in Arsenal’s
hands.
City had taken the lead through Antoine Semenyo and
Rodri, only for Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson to restore parity. In
the dying moments, Savinho saw a shot cleared off the line by Murillo, adding
to City’s frustration.
The draw proved costly as Arsenal recorded a 1-0 win
at Brighton, extending their lead to seven points and putting them in control
of the title race ahead of their visit to the Etihad in April.
City, who have a game in hand, started brightly and
took the lead in the 31st minute when Rayan Cherki crossed for Semenyo, who
volleyed past Matz Sels from 10 yards—his fifth goal in eight Premier League
appearances since joining from Bournemouth.
After a strong start to the second half, City were
caught cold in the 56th minute. Ola Aina broke down the right and crossed for
Igor Jesus, whose header set up Gibbs-White to backheel past goalkeeper
Gianluigi Donnarumma.
City responded six minutes later, reclaiming the lead
from a corner as Rodri powered a header from Rayan Ait-Nouri’s delivery.
Forest’s protests that Sels had been impeded were ignored.
However, Forest refused to buckle. In the 76th minute,
Anderson combined with Callum Hudson-Odoi and curled a superb finish into the
bottom corner, leaving Pep Guardiola stunned and City’s hopes of controlling
the title race slipping further.
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