Manchester City's title challenge suffered another jolt as they twice surrendered the lead in a gripping 2-2 draw with relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest at the Etihad Stadium. Antoine Semenyo's crisp volley and Rodri's second-half header appeared to have done enough, but Morgan Gibbs-White and substitute Elliot Anderson struck either side of the hour to earn the visitors a precious point.
With Arsenal edging past Brighton at the same time, Pep Guardiola's side slipped seven points behind the Premier League leaders, losing further control of a race they once dominated. For Forest, who arrived with one of the division's leanest attacks and on the back of three straight defeats in all competitions, Anderson's sublime 25-yard equaliser 13 minutes from time capped a performance built on resilience, opportunism and no little quality in key moments.
City dominance checked by Forest's resistance and rare forays
The contest quickly settled into an expected pattern. City, boasting 57 league goals before kick-off, monopolised possession and territory, while Forest dropped into a compact shape that squeezed the game into the middle third. Guardiola recalled Erling Haaland after a one-game injury absence and restored Phil Foden to the starting XI, while the balance usually provided by Nico O'Reilly in midfield was missing. Forest counterpart Vítor Pereira, seeking to halt his side's losing run, reshaped his XI and asked his players to sit deep, break quickly and make their rare moments count.