Nottingham Forest turned limited possession into maximum reward as Liam Delap’s goals in the 18th and 73rd minutes powered a 3-1 Premier League victory over Manchester City at the City Ground on Saturday.
Jair Cunha opened the scoring after six minutes, while Rayan Cherki’s 52nd-minute reply briefly offered City a route back. Delap’s second ultimately settled the fixture, delivering Forest’s first home win of the season and sending the visitors to a third consecutive defeat.
Forest strike early to take control
Forest could hardly have asked for a better opening. Cunha’s sixth-minute goal immediately put City on the back foot, and Delap doubled the advantage in the 18th minute to leave the visitors facing a substantial recovery job.
That two-goal cushion survived until half-time. For all City’s command of the ball across the evening, Forest had established control of the one measure that mattered most: the goals.
Cherki offers hope before Delap decides it
City found a lifeline seven minutes after the restart, with Cherki making it 2-1 in the 52nd minute. Suddenly, a draw or even a turnaround was within reach, and Forest’s early work was put to the test.
The hosts collected bookings through James McAtee in the 64th minute and Dan Ndoye in the 69th, but the decisive next intervention came from Delap. His 73rd-minute goal restored the two-goal advantage and left City with too much to recover.
Forest saw out the remaining minutes, including stoppage-time yellow cards for Luca Netz and Igor Jesus, to secure a result celebrated by the home support among a crowd of 30,762.
Possession without the payoff for City
The statistics underlined the contrast between having the ball and making it count. City finished with 78% possession, yet managed only four shots on target from 12 attempts. Forest, operating with just 22% possession, produced five efforts on target from 11 attempts and converted three of them.
City also led the corner count seven to three, but those advantages did not translate into a result. Forest’s greater efficiency proved decisive, with Delap’s double the defining contribution.
What comes next?
Both sides return to Premier League action on Saturday, November 21. Forest face AFC Bournemouth at 7:00 a.m. PST, while City meet Fulham at 4:30 a.m. PST.
For Forest, this was a long-awaited home breakthrough. For City, another defeat leaves an urgent need to turn possession into something more substantial.
