Pep Guardiola: ‘We Needed It’

Manchester City snapped a seven-game winless run with a convincing 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest, a result that manager Pep Guardiola celebrated as a crucial turning point for the team. The victory also ended Guardiola’s worst streak of results in his illustrious career.

“We needed it,” Guardiola said. “The most important thing was to break this routine of not winning games and finally we won, but we have to continue. The club, the players, everyone needed to win. After recent events, we weren’t truly relaxed until the final whistle.”

Kevin De Bruyne’s return to the starting lineup was marked by an outstanding performance, as the Belgian midfielder scored a goal, assisted another, and dominated City’s attacking efforts in his first start in over two months. However, Guardiola cautioned about managing De Bruyne’s workload given his recent injury history.

“We’ll see how he recovers after a long injury layoff. The reality is he played few games last season and this season,” Guardiola said, noting the team’s busy December schedule, which includes a match against Crystal Palace on Saturday. “Three days, three days — we’ll see how De Bruyne feels.”

City’s victory was marred by injuries to defenders Nathan Aké and Manuel Akanji. Aké was forced off late in the game with a hamstring issue, while Akanji was sidelined for the second half. Guardiola expressed concern over Aké’s injury, given his previous five-week absence this season.

“Nathan doesn’t look good. We’ll assess the situation tomorrow,” Guardiola said. “He couldn’t continue, and we’ll know more in three days. I’m disappointed for Nathan.”

Guardiola indicated that Akanji’s injury appears to be less serious but acknowledged the importance of having both players available, along with two defensive midfielders. “We’d love to have Manu and Nathan, and two defensive midfielders. They’re fantastic people and players,” he said.

The win against Nottingham Forest comes as a much-needed boost for Manchester City, who have struggled to find consistency this season. As the team looks to close the gap on league leaders Liverpool, Guardiola will hope that this victory serves as a catalyst for a strong run of form in the coming weeks.