Man City player ratings vs Nottingham Forest with five 5/10s in dull defeat

Manchester City were beaten 1-0 by Nottingham Forest as their Premier League struggles continue. Pep Guardiola made nine changes from the side that had beaten Plymouth in the FA Cup as most of the side that had won impressively at Spurs returned, and they dominated possession.

Chances were hard to come by against a dogged Forest defence, but City were pushing for a goal late in the game when they were undone by a simple move. The ball was floated over the top and Callum Hudson-Odoi took on Josko Gvardiol and finished past Ederson.

The result leaves City four points behind third-placed Forest with ten games to go and vulnerable in their hopes of a top-four finish. Here are the player ratings.

Ederson: Read the game so well for so long and made a terrific save in the second half but then let one in at his near post. 5

Nunes: Gave away a few needless corners, battled on through injury but was booked before being replaced. 5

Khusanov: Covered the space behind Nunes well, gave Wood as good as he got and made some important blocks. 7

Dias: Led from the back, working well with Khusanov and not being afraid to step forward on the ball as City looked for an opening. 7

Gvardiol: Forest looked to get in behind him and sometimes did, including the all-important goal at the end. 5

Gonzalez: Tidied up plenty at the back and went close with one effort, but picked up a yellow card and looked like he was hooked before he got another. 6

Silva: He is still running, albeit now it looks like he could use a rest. City attacks broke down at his feet too many times. 5

Foden: Played centrally behind Haaland and showed a few flashes but couldn't stamp his mark on the game. 6

Savinho: Lots of bright play and was excellent in recovering the ball, although the final ball could have been better. 6

Doku: Had a good battle with Aina in the first half, was more subdued on the right flank after the break and didn't track Hudson-Odoi for the goal. 5

Haaland: Had an early chance deflected wide and couldn't see much else despite dropping deeper in search of it. 6

Substitutes

Lewis (for Nunes, 61) Settled after some early confusion when he came on. 5

Kovacic (for Gonzalez, 61) Helped City to regain control, until they didn't. 6

De Bruyne (for Foden, 69) Missed a decent chance. 6

Marmoush (for Savinho, 69) Couldn't get on the ball. 6

Not used: Ortega, Reis, O'Reilly, Gundogan, Grealish