Manchester City stayed in the Premier League title race as Rayan Cherki struck an 83rd-minute winner in a 2-1 victory over Nottingham Forest, sending City to the top of the table for a few hours and extending
their winning streak in all competitions to six matches.
The match at the City Ground saw Tijjani Reijnders give City an early advantage before Omari Hutchinson levelled soon after half-time, setting up a tense finale that ended with Cherki deciding the contest and preserving an unchanged Manchester City starting line-up for a sixth successive fixture.
This sequence of identical team selections is Manchester City's longest run with the same XI since the 2008-09 season and reflects Pep Guardiola's strict stance over the festive period, when players were warned that any weight gain could result in exclusion from the matchday squad.
The approach appears to have paid off, as City matched a six-game winning run they last produced while closing the 2023-24 campaign with nine straight victories, and Guardiola joked afterwards about the physical demands of the Forest clash, stating to TNT Sports: "All the kilos I gained over Christmas time, today I lost it. I am fit again,".
7 - Since the start of November, Rayan Cherki has assisted more goals (7) than any other player in Europe's big-five leagues. Wizard. pic.twitter.com/1CoOjbRR5MOptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 27, 2025
Guardiola highlighted how demanding the contest felt against Nottingham Forest and praised the hosts at length, saying: "What a team Sean Dyche has made again. That's a really, really, really big three points [for us]. [Forest] are an incredible team, the way that they play, they do it unbelievably.
"They have a top-quality team. This team was in the Champions League but for one or two games last season, and now in European competitions. A fantastic team and tough place to come, and at winter time. We talked a lot about this in the last few days with the players.
"Winter time, at Nottingham Forest, you have to be there, there, there. If we are not ready, then we do not win that game. The mentality was unbelievable, so really pleased again for the guys. We have 18 games played, so we have now finished the first leg.
"And in the second, we know that coming is a lot of games like today. The Premier League is tougher, tougher, tougher, but it is important to be there. Winning or losing would not mean it's over; we have many games. "
Manchester City Premier League numbers and Rayan Cherki impact
Cherki's decisive strike added to impressive creative numbers this season, reflected in data from Opta, which underlined how influential the forward has been across major European competitions since early November.
Key match details for Manchester City's Premier League win over Nottingham Forest are set out below.
| Fixture | Competition | Score | Manchester City scorers | Nottingham Forest scorer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City | Premier League | 1-2 | Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Cherki | Omari Hutchinson |
Manchester City Premier League tactics and Pep Lijnders role
Across the match, Guardiola celebrated both Manchester City goals enthusiastically with assistant coach Pep Lijnders, who previously worked alongside Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, and later stressed how influential Lijnders has been within the technical staff at the club.
Guardiola said of Lijnders: "He is so good. He is a top manager. Sometimes people think, 'he's the assistant'well, maybe I am his assistant. We talked at half-time and changed a little bit the shape," underlining the tactical tweaks that helped City respond after Forest's equaliser.
After completing 18 league matches, Manchester City now regard this stage as the halfway point of their Premier League title defence and will next travel to Sunderland on Thursday, aiming to maintain pressure on current leaders Arsenal while navigating a schedule Guardiola expects to feature many more tight contests like the win at Nottingham Forest.
