Having made the perfect start to their PL campaign with five consecutive wins, the hosts looked full of confidence during the opening stages, and their early pressure was rewarded with a breakthrough inside seven minutes.
Rodri was the architect of the move, spraying an inch-perfect diagonal pass into the path of Kyle Walker, and the full-back showed excellent awareness to cushion the ball back to Foden, who fired a clinical first-time effort beyond Matt Turner.
Armed with all the momentum, City doubled their advantage in the 14th minute through Haaland, as the Norwegian talisman headed home from Matheus Nunes’ inviting delivery following another brilliant team move.
Having registered over 80% possession in a dominant opening half-hour, the Cityzens took their foot off the gas with the interval approaching, allowing Steve Cooper’s beleaguered side to make it through to the interval without further damage.
Faced with a two-goal deficit, the visitors were handed a lifeline within a minute of the restart when Rodri was dismissed for an off-the-ball incident involving Morgan Gibbs-White.
That decision provided the visitors with plenty of encouragement as they looked to capitalise on their numerical advantage, but clear-cut chances came at a premium as Guardiola’s men held firm under pressure.
With time ticking into the final 15 minutes, Haaland spurned a glorious opportunity to put the game to bed, but that mattered little to the result, as City coasted through the closing stages to secure a convincing three points, earning their sixth consecutive PL win of the new campaign.
As for Forest, they’ll be keen to bounce back next weekend against Brentford after just one victory in their last five matches.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Phil Foden (Manchester City)
