Delap scores twice as Nottingham Forest beat Man City 3-1
- Nottingham Forest beat Manchester City 3-1 at the City Ground on Saturday.
- Liam Delap scored twice as Forest won for only the second time this season.
- The defeat is City's third in a row in the Premier League and leaves them six points behind Arsenal.
Manchester City lost their third Premier League game in a row on Saturday, going down 3-1 at Nottingham Forest, where Liam Delap scored twice.
The result lifted Forest out of the relegation zone with only their second win of the season. City, the 10-time English champions, stay six points behind leaders Arsenal.
Forest had not scored a home goal all season before this match. They punished careless City defending twice inside the first 20 minutes. Jair Cunha robbed Josko Gvardiol midway inside the City half, ran through and beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. It was Forest's first home goal in 511 minutes, and owner Evangelos Marinakis jumped from his seat to celebrate.
Delap then made it 2-0, running from inside his own half after Elliott Anderson lost the ball in midfield, and driving a shot past Donnarumma. It was a difficult return to Forest for Anderson, who left for City in a reported £116m move.
City fight back, then fade
City manager Enzo Maresca made two changes at half-time, bringing on Nico O'Reilly and Matheus Nunes, and his side briefly improved. Rayan Cherki pulled one back with a fine strike from Jeremy Doku's deflected cross, and Erling Haaland went close with a shot that went just wide.
But City remained open to Forest's counter-attacks. With about 15 minutes left, Morgan Gibbs-White set up Delap, who finished again, this time with his left foot, to make it 3-1.
Delap joined Forest from Chelsea for a club-record £50m ($67m) and had struggled at first. Saturday's performance could be the night his Forest career takes off.
Forest coach Oliver Glasner had warned his players he would make big changes after a poor start that left them in the bottom three. He got the response he wanted.
What happens next
City's problems go beyond the pitch. The club has been found guilty of more than 100 Premier League charges of breaking financial rules and faces a heavy points deduction unless it wins an appeal. Maresca must now keep his players focused while they do not know whether they will be in the top flight next season.
For Forest, the win is a lift in their fight against relegation. It also pushed Manchester United into the bottom three before United's game against Aston Villa on Sunday.
