Leaders Manchester City were forced to hang on to beat Nottingham Forest after Rodri’s red card but still maintained their perfect start to the Premier League season.
City were cruising at the break thanks to early goals by Phil Foden and Erling Haaland but the game changed dramatically only 27 seconds after the restart.
Rodri was shown a straight red for violent conduct after putting his hands around Morgan Gibbs-White’s throat as they tangled near the corner flag, with VAR upholding referee Anthony Taylor’s decision.
Forest had been outplayed until that point, with City slicing them open with sparkling attacks down the right to score both their goals inside the first 15 minutes.
Kyle Walker set up Foden to fire home City’s opener with a fine first-time finish, before Matheus Nunes crossed from the same flank for an unmarked Haaland to head home.
The second half was a different story, however, with City having to dig in to protect their lead – and they mostly succeeded in keeping Forest at arms’ length.
Clear chances for the visitors remained few and far between, with Orel Mangala scooping one shot over and Taiwo Awoniyi off target from close range, before Ederson denied Anthony Elanga late on.
Tempers continued to boil over in the closing minutes, with City manager Pep Guardiola and the home fans unhappy with more of Taylor’s decisions, but City still held out.
With the rest of the top four playing on Sunday the defending champions are now five points clear at the top of the table.
Source: BBC
