Pep Guardiola said he was relieved that his Manchester City side ended their recent miserable run following a comfortable 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest.
Kevin De Bruyne, returning to the starting line-up for the first time in more than two months, was the star of the show as the Belgian helped himself to a goal and an assist at the Etihad.
Bernardo Silva and Jeremy Doku were also on the scoresheet on an evening when Guardiola’s side, despite showcasing some defensive frailty, showed glimpses of their former self.
Boss 😁 pic.twitter.com/S4jvsT5a7e
— Manchester City (@ManCity) December 4, 2024
And the City boss was understandably pleased to see his team get back to winning ways.
“We won, we won. Definitely we needed it,” said Guardiola.
“We won, we make a performance that was really good.”
The result moves City up one place to fourth in the table, although Guardiola was quick to stress he is taking one game at a time.
Asked if this was a sign the City of old were back, Guardiola said: ““I don’t know, we have to prove it again.
“It is just one game but it is important to have broken this run.”
“I’m happy I could do 70 minutes”
Kevin De Bruyne analyses his goal on his return to the Man City side #PLonPrime #MCINFO pic.twitter.com/3gH82rNHXh
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) December 4, 2024
On the performance of De Bruyne, Guardiola added: “He [De Bruyne] was excellent, especially in the first half.
“When he’s fit he is so important for us. He has been an incredible influence on our team.”
Speaking about returning to the starting eleven after such a long period of time out, De Bruyne said: “I try to manage it a bit. But when I’m on the pitch, this made we do what I did but sometimes it is also my downfall.
“In the second half I tried to manage it a bit more and control it a little bit. I’m happy I could do 70-minutes. That’s a big improvement on what I’ve done lately.”
Meanwhile, Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo was dignified in defeat, but admitted missing a couple of good chances may have ultimately cost his team.
“A lot of lessons we have to learn,” he said.
“We faced a very good team. We should have done better with the chances that we had that could have changed the momentum of the game.
“But overall the team fought, the team competed but City are difficult to stop.”
Next up for City is a trip to Crystal Palace on Saturday, while Forest return to Manchester with a visit to Old Trafford.
