Regular play resumed at the Eithad Stadium as Manchester City ended their recent lull with a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest.

Kevin De Bruyne, who didn’t start in last weekend’s defeat to Liverpool, was the mastermind of City’s free-flowing attacking play, scoring the first goal and scoring the second.

“He played a fantastic 75 minutes, I’m so glad he’s back,” said De Bruyne’s Pep Guardiola, who has been plagued by injuries and has made just five starting appearances this season.

The hosts took the lead from distance when the under-fire Ilkay Gündogan floated into space before sending a cross towards the Belgian’s head and he seamlessly passed the ball to Bernardo Silva, who easily tucked it away.

There was no indication that City lacked self-confidence after four defeats in a row in the league. Chris Wood missed a challenge with Stefan Ortega on one side before Jeremy Doku punished on the other side, darting into the box to beat De Bruyne, who swept past Matz Sels.

Forest faced something of a backlash and the pattern continued after the break.

Erling Haaland burst forward before playing a perfectly weighted pass into the path of Doku to score his first goal since early October and take three crucial points, with City reducing the gap to Premier League leaders Liverpool, who are in Newcastle drew 3-3. until nine.

“We needed this, the club, the players. We had to win,” concluded Guardiola. Is there life in this title race yet?

Guardiola is happy to be able to break the cycle of losses

Man City manager Pep Guardiola:

“The difference is that we won. That’s the difference. We needed this, the club, the players. Everyone had to win, but it’s just a game. The problems (with injuries) continue. They prove what an incredible group of players we are. “They have been playing really well for many years.

“There are still things we are missing, but in general the most important thing was to break that routine, after all we won. We’ll see how we process our victory.”

“It was better than Liverpool and Bournemouth but very similar to other games we didn’t win. The difference today was that we won, that’s all.”

What’s coming up in the Premier League?