AFCON 2025
Nottingham Forest continued their Champions League qualification charge ahead of next season as they secured a late win over Manchester City.
Calum Hudson-Odoi’s 83rd-minute goal was enough as the Tricky Trees grabbed maximum points over Pep Guardiola’s men at the City Ground.
Super Eagles duo Ola Aina and Taiwo Awoniyi featured in the win. The former played the entirety of the match while the latter came on for Chris Wood late in the second half.
The defending champions came into the match off a back-to-back win over Tottenham in the Premier League and Plymouth in the FA Cup fifth round.
However, the Cityzens struggled to break down a resolute Nottingham Forest who defended with five men at the back without the ball.
Nico Gonzalez forced a brilliant save off Mats Selz with a long-range strike in the opening quarter of the game.
Jeremy Doku also came close to getting the opener from the edge of the box with a precise strike but Sels dived to the ground quickly to make a save.
The first half ended goalless as the visitors toiled hard to find the breakthrough.
Callum Hudson-Odoi powered a goal-bound curler from the left flank, but Ederson reacted quickly as he parried the ball into the past.
However, the former Chelsea winger beat Ederson from close range in the 83rd minute to give the home side the winner.
Callum Hudson-Odoi received a long pass from Morgan Gibbs-White; the winger dashed into the box with pace and beat Ederson with a mid-range shot to his near post.
The win put Nottingham Forest four points ahead of Manchester City who still occupy the fourth spot temporarily after the loss.
Nottingham Forest are on course of qualifying for the Champions League for the first time since the 1980/1981 season.
