Pep Guardiola has insisted the Premier League title race is far from decided after Manchester City were held to a 2-2 draw by Nottingham Forest.
City twice moved ahead during an eventful encounter, with goals from Antoine Semenyo and Rodri giving the reigning champions the advantage.
However, Forest showed resilience throughout the contest, battling back on both occasions to secure a crucial point in their fight to avoid relegation.
As a result, City’s six-match winning streak came to an end, leaving them seven points behind league leaders Arsenal FC.
Nevertheless, Guardiola’s side still hold a game in hand and are yet to host the Gunners at the Etihad Stadium, meaning the title race remains wide open heading into the final stretch of the campaign.
Despite the frustration of surrendering the lead twice, Guardiola highlighted the positives in his team’s overall performance and urged his players to remain focused with nine matches still to play.
“[There are] still many games to play, them one less,” Guardiola said.
“Now it’s Newcastle (in the FA Cup) and I always think about what’s next.
“If we analyse then in general it was a good performance and there were many good things. Of course we have things we can improve but in general pretty good.”
The match itself proved to be a challenging test for the Cityzens, particularly against a Forest side that defended deep and looked to strike on the break.
Even so, Guardiola felt his players maintained control for long periods.
“There are games that maybe we don’t deserve it but today we play in general good for more than 90 minutes.
“Okay you cannot stop the transition or long balls – it’s not about this action or the other action, in general we played well.
“They were so defensive and are a really good team. We were dynamic.
“Maybe we miss contact with Erling [Haaland] and his incredible movements, we have to look for him a little bit more. But apart from that, in general it was okay.”
Erling Haaland returned to the starting line-up after missing City’s 1-0 victory over Leeds United at the weekend due to a minor knock.
The striker was involved throughout the contest and even appealed for a penalty in the second half, though the referee waved play on.
Still, Guardiola refused to dwell on the officiating decision and instead placed responsibility on his team to perform at a higher level.
“Always I believe we have to do it much better to make sure the officials don’t intervene,” he said.
“It’s our responsibility to be better. If we have to rely on them it’s impossible. Nothing more to say.”
With the title race heating up and the FA Cup next on the agenda, City will now shift their attention to the upcoming clash with Newcastle United as Guardiola’s men look to quickly regain momentum.
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