Delap on target as Nottingham Forest beat Man City 3-1
Nottingham Forest beat Man City 3-1 at the City Ground on Matchday 10, with early goals from Jair Cunha and Liam Delap setting up the win.
By Harvey Watkins,
Nottingham Forest beat Man City 3-1 at the City Ground on Saturday evening, and the shape of the result was set almost before the visitors had settled. Jair Cunha scored after six minutes, Liam Delap added a second in the 18th, and although Rayan Cherki pulled one back early in the second half, Delap struck again in the 73rd minute to settle it.
How the goals came
- 6 min: Jair Cunha (Nottingham Forest) 1-0
- 18 min: Liam Delap (Nottingham Forest) 2-0
- 52 min: Rayan Cherki (Man City) 2-1
- 73 min: Liam Delap (Nottingham Forest) 3-1
The opening quarter of an hour decided the terms of the match. Going two up inside 18 minutes against City is not something Forest have often been able to do, and it meant the rest of the evening was played on their scoreline rather than their opponents'.
Cherki's goal in the 52nd minute was the moment the result might have turned. At 2-1, with most of the second half still to play, City had time to find an equaliser. They did not, and Delap's second of the evening in the 73rd minute restored the two-goal margin and took the urgency out of the closing stages.
A list of goal times only tells part of a story, and it would be a stretch to read too much into the periods without goals. What it does show is that Forest scored at the start, scored again when the game was in the balance, and gave City only one way back in.
Against the recent record
Set against the most recent meetings between the clubs, this was a notable result for Forest. Their previous win over City came at the City Ground in March 2025, a 1-0. Since then the fixture had gone City's way more often than not: a 2-0 City win at the City Ground in April 2025, a 2-1 City win on the same ground in December 2025, and then a 2-2 draw at City's home in March 2026.
The scoreline itself stands out. In none of those earlier meetings had Forest scored more than twice, and in none had City conceded more than twice. A 3-1 margin is also more decisive than the one-goal games and the draw that had characterised much of the recent series, with only City's 3-0 home win in December 2024 coming close as a comfortable result for either side.
It would be unwise to build too much on one evening. The most recent meetings had swung between City wins, a narrow Forest win and a draw, and there is no strong pattern to suggest this result changes the balance on its own. But the March 2026 draw followed by this win means Forest have not lost either of the two latest meetings, which is a different picture from the run that preceded them.
The players who decided it
Delap was the name on the scoresheet that mattered most, scoring the goal that doubled the lead and the one that ended City's hopes. Cunha's early opener gave Forest the start they needed. For City, Cherki's goal offered a route back into the match, but it was the only one they found.