‘Really well’: Pep Guardiola admits he liked what he saw from one Nottingham Forest star in Manchester City loss
This season has been a unique challenge for Pep Guardiola as his Manchester City side continue to flatter to deceive, with Nottingham Forest only adding to the misery on Saturday.
City sat a single point behind Nuno Espirito Santo’s side ahead of the clash at the City Ground, but Callum Hudson-Odoi’s late winner left the Premier League champions with work to do whilst Forest celebrated with elation.
Forest fans hailed Morgan Gibbs-White’s assist against City as the Reds found the decisive touch to beat their European football-chasing rivals, which may not have come as a surprise as Guardiola singled out Gibbs-White and Hudson-Odoi for praise in the buildup.
Espirito Santo drilled his team expertly in defence, too, highlighted by Rio Ferdinand hailing Murillo’s performance.
The City boss wasn’t as interested in the defensive side of the game, though, highlighting Forest’s efforts further up the pitch in his post-match interview.
Pep Guardiola singles out Callum Hudson-Odoi in Nottingham Forest victory
Hudson-Odoi’s importance to Forest has been clear lately, with his display against Newcastle United one of the key reasons why his side were a threat in the 4-3 defeat.
Followed up with the match-winning goal on Saturday against City, it’s clear that the former Chelsea man is one of Forest’s most influential players, something that Guardiola couldn’t ignore.
Speaking to BBC Sport after the game, Guardiola said: “We controlled the long balls to [Chris] Wood and second balls in transition. But in the second half, we lost once in transition and Callum Hudson-Odoi finished it really well.”
Hudson-Odoi clearly deserved credit for the decisive moment, but he was supported by his staunch defensive unit, with Guardiola adding: “It is not easy to play against them. That is why they are where they are. We had three or four chances in the first half. Second half it was a bit more tight.”
Callum Hudson Odoi’s match-winning performance in numbers
It was never going to be a game that allowed the likes of Hudson-Odoi to flourish freely in attack, so what he did with his few opportunities on the ball was exceptional.
The winger only had 33 touches, so five of them being passes into the final third is a respectable number, with the all-important touch, of course, being the winning goal.
Beyond that, though, the 24-year-old forced an exceptional save out of Ederson from the edge of the box as well as two created chances for his teammates.
As Forest attempted to control the tempo of the game whenever possible against their possession-hungry opponents, Espirito Santo will have appreciated the two fouls that Hudson-Odoi won, alongside the 100% success rate in his duels.
Forest want to sign Hudson-Odoi to a new contract at the end of the season for the likely European run, which should bring more special performances from the English winger at the City Ground.
