Rayan Cherki once again emerged as Manchester City’s hero, scoring a late goal to secure all three points at the City Ground. The hosts were hoping for a repeat after Josep Guardiola’s side suffered a defeat at Nottingham Forest last season, managing to equalize in the second half.
The first half was a fierce battle with neither team creating many chances, but it was the Blues who broke the deadlock with Cherki setting up Tijani Lijnders. However, Omari Hutchinson was on par with Sean Dyche’s side, much to the delight of the home supporters. However, Cherki had other plans and played the role of party spoiler, firing a stunning shot through the crowd from a corner kick and into the back of the net to give City a decisive victory. Here are the player ratings from Express Sport…
Donnarumma: We held up physically from set-pieces, but there was a weak punch there that could have been ugly. 6.
Nunez: Hudson-Odoi was happy to run at him for much of the second half, but found plenty of space to exploit in the first half. 6.
Diaz: Already had a yellow card, we had a little bit of luck, but we were proactive and kept Forest at bay. 7.
Gvardiol: Although he struggled against Jesus, he coped well with the physical challenges and continued to put in great performances. 8.
O’Reilly: Struggling in the second half against a lively Hutchinson and looked unusually out of sync with Foden. 5.
Gonzalez: He was lucky not to get a yellow card in the first half, but he looked tired as the game went on. 6.
Silva: Adjusted most of the play and kept City focused in the final stages of the game. 7.
Foden: He made some mistakes in the first half and had some chances, but not as many as he and the team would have liked. 7.
Lijnders: Made a great run and finish for the opening goal and has become increasingly reliable in front of goal. 7.
Cherki: The City player who looks most likely to produce something again, provided a decent assist for Lijnders before an impressive attack in the second half. 9.
Haaland: He had good shifts and tried to participate as much as possible, but every time he found space to shoot, his path was always blocked. 6.
substitute
Savinho (Lijnders, 72) made an active contribution. 6.
Ake (Cherki, 88 years old) There was little time to make an impact. Not applicable.
Unused substitutes: Trafford, Kusanov, Luiz, Rodri, Makaidou, Heskey, Mukasa.
