Pep Guardiola hailed Kevin De Bruyne after the Belgian produced a man-of-the-match display as Manchester City were on the verge of winning again, but fears their victory came at a cost as both Nathan Aké and Manuel Akanji had to leave the match with injuries. night.
De Bruyne scored and assisted as City beat Nottingham Forest 3–0 for their first win in 39 days.
“I'm so happy for him,” Guardiola said. “When he is fit he is so important for us. We needed it (the win). The club needed it. The players needed it. Everyone had to win, but it's just one win.'
The City manager emphasized that his team's performance was not much different from some of the other matches in recent weeks. It was City's first win since beating Southampton in October, ending a run of four consecutive defeats in the league.
“It was better than the Liverpool and Bournemouth games, but comparable to the other games we didn't win,” Guardiola said.
When asked if the difference was that other players scored instead of Erling Haaland, Guardiola refused to say. Instead, he said, “The difference tonight was that we won.”
Guardiola revealed that Aké will be on the sidelines for a long period with what appears to be a hamstring problem. Ake was ruled out for five weeks earlier this season with a hamstring injury, while Akanji was forced off at half-time for Kyle Walker.
'The problems with Manuel (Akanji) and Nathan (Ake) continued. Nathan doesn't look well. We'll see tomorrow. “I'm sad for Nathan, I think he'll be out for a long time,” the City boss said. 'He couldn't go any further. Manu perhaps in Turin. Nathan will stay longer.'
Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo insisted there was no doubt about City's quality despite them being on a seven-match winless run heading into the match.
'It was very difficult for us because of their quality. It's not just Kevin De Bruyne. It is very difficult to control these players individually. Nobody doubts the quality of the City players and their manager,” said Nuno. “To be honest, my players went for it. We lost, but we challenged ourselves.”
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