Delap scores twice against former club as Forest beat Manchester City 3-1

Nottingham Forest beat Manchester City 3-1 in the Premier League at the City Ground on 7 November 2026. BBC Sport and ESPN both reported the result. Liam Delap, a former City player, scored twice.

The defeat was City's third consecutive Premier League loss.

Jair Cunha gave Forest the lead in the sixth minute after he dispossessed City defender Josko Gvardiol. Delap scored Forest's second and third goals. Rayan Cherki scored for City in the second half.

Match details

According to ESPN, Delap's first goal came in the 18th minute, so City were 2-0 down inside 20 minutes. BBC Sport reported that Xaver Schlager provided the assist. ESPN said Delap's second goal came in the 74th minute from a counterattack and went in off the inside of the far post. According to ESPN, Cherki scored after a cross from Jeremy Doku was deflected into his path.

BBC Sport reported that City replaced Marc Guehi and Gvardiol at half-time with Matheus Nunes and Nico O'Reilly. The reports do not give the reasons for the changes.

Context

According to ESPN, Forest started the day in the relegation zone, and the win took them out of it. ESPN reported that the result moved Manchester United into the bottom three. BBC Sport described the result as Forest's first Premier League win at the City Ground this season.

ESPN reported that City won their first seven league games of the season. City remain second, six points behind leaders and titleholders Arsenal, according to ESPN. ESPN said it was the first time in two years that City lost three straight league games. It was also the first time since 2007 that City trailed at half-time in three consecutive Premier League games, according to ESPN.

According to ESPN, Delap joined Forest from Chelsea in a club-record move. He had scored once in his first eight games for Forest. ESPN said he played two Premier League games for City. ESPN also reported that Oliver Glasner is Forest's new manager and that Enzo Maresca replaced Pep Guardiola as City manager this summer.

What is disputed

ESPN reports that Forest had been without a Premier League win since April before this match. The same report says Forest had one win from their opening nine games under Glasner. Taken together, these statements suggest that win came outside the league, but ESPN does not say in which competition. BBC Sport does not say whether Forest had won away from home this season.

What each side says

According to ESPN, Maresca told Sky Sports: "We won the first seven in a row and that's never happened, and now we've lost three in a row -- it's football. We have to try to be better game after game."

According to ESPN, Maresca said it is too early to panic. ESPN quoted him as saying: "I didn't know them before, and now it's three or four months that we are together. I think they need to know me and I need to know them. It's a learning journey." ESPN also quoted him as saying: "We know what we do well but we need to understand what we are not doing well and try to improve it."

The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not include any comment from Glasner or Forest players.

Analysis

The result matters at both ends of the table. If ESPN's account is accurate, Forest's win changes the picture near the relegation zone, including for Manchester United. For City, three straight defeats follow a seven-match winning start. Maresca describes this as a period of mutual adjustment. One scenario is that the run proves short-lived. Another is that it widens the gap to Arsenal. The reports do not establish which is more likely. Open questions include the competition in which Forest earned their earlier win this season and their league position after this match. City's ongoing appeal against Premier League charges is also unresolved, and the reports do not describe it.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.