Manchester City are still 100 per cent after another win. They played half the game against Nottingham shorthanded

The only team to have won all five opening Premier League games is Manchester City. The reigning champions defended their 100% record in Saturday afternoon’s clash with Nottingham Forest. The favourite did not falter in the sixth round. They won 2:0 in the first half and in the second half they managed to shorthand after Rodri was sent off.

The visitors’ goalkeeper Matt Turner had to intervene for the first time at the Etihad Stadium after three minutes of play, as Álvarez’s direct free kick went between the three posts. In the seventh minute, the score was already changing. Rodri’s pass behind the defence found Walker, who returned the ball underneath to Phil Foden, who finished the neat action with a precise ground shot.

It was 2-0 before the opening quarter of an hour had elapsed. Nunes’ cross from the right was met by Erling Haaland in the penalty area, who managed to split the net with a successful header. It was the eighth goal of the season in the English top flight.

The Citizens continued to dominate the possession statistics and patiently prepared more shooting opportunities. Julián Álvarez did not even beat the Nottingham goalkeeper in the 25th minute when he sent an attempt from outside the sixteen. The Argentine striker failed again five minutes later when his close-range finish was cleared out for a corner by a blocking defender.

In the 39th minute, the visiting team suffered another setback. Left-back Nuno Tavares had to withdraw from the match due to injury. He was replaced by Gonzalo Montiel.

At the start of the second half, a scuffle broke out between Rodri and Gibbs-White at the corner flag, with the Manchester midfielder failing to hold his nerve and indicating that he wanted to grab his teammate by the throat. Head referee Taylor awarded the Spanish player a red card, and VAR subsequently did not dispute the decision.

Morgan Gibbs-White received a yellow card. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola then decided to replace Jeremy Doku with Kalvin Phillips due to the shorthanded situation.

Nottingham started to show a more offensive performance in the numerical advantage and were getting shots. However, goalie Ederson didn’t have to intervene for long. It wasn’t until the 71st minute that he made a tough save on Elang’s attempt.

Six minutes later, Haaland could have scored for the second time on the other side, but he shot over the crossbar from a good position he found after a standard situation and a pass from Ake. Coach Steve Cooper’s charges, however, did not convert any of the chances they created on the powerplay and did not dramatize the end of the game. The leader of the table is still 100 percent.

Manchester City players have two more matches before the end of September. They will face Newcastle in the League Cup on Wednesday and Wolverhampton in the Premier League next Saturday. Nottingham Forest will play Brentford at their stadium on Sunday.

Source: Premier League, Canal+ Sport