Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson may become Manchester City players next season. And if they arrive at Etihad this summer, they will have to remain "silent" for a few days.
2 goals from the Nottingham Forest duo brought a surprise 2-2 draw right at the Etihad stadium, and also dealt a heavy blow to the championship hopes of potential teammates in the future.
Along with Arsenal's 1-0 victory over Brighton, the gap at the top of the table has been widened to 7 points. Gibbs-White and Anderson - both of whom are targets of Man City before the upcoming transfer window - probably won't care too much about that.
Forest is facing a relegation battle and a valuable point helps them continue to stay above the relegation zone. Otherwise, they could have ended their day in the bottom 3 teams, after West Ham United defeated Fulham 1-0.
This draw created completely opposite reactions from two coaches Pep Guardiola and Vitor Pereira.
Sometimes I say, sometimes I don't. Today is not necessary. Tomorrow we will watch" - Guardiola shared in a brief press conference after the match.
Meanwhile, Pereira is clearly much more optimistic after winning his first Premier League point since taking over the coaching position from Sean Dyche.
It was a difficult match, but my team showed a lot of bravery. Quality, good organization and we have less recovery time than Man City by almost a day. I am satisfied with my players. Two very beautiful goals. We have proven that we can score points anywhere" - the captain of Nottingham said.
Although Man City has had positive results recently, it can still be argued that this result is not too surprising. This is no longer a team that can easily overwhelm opponents.
The first leg match against Forest at City Ground in December last year ended with a 2-1 victory for City. Their last 2 victories against Newcastle United and Leeds United were also only one goal apart.
Nearly 40% of The Citizens' wins in the Premier League this season are with a one-goal difference. This is their highest rate since the 2012-2013 season, when this number exceeded 50%.
When victories are all fragile like that, always winning all 3 points is not easy. And against Forest, City could not do it. The home team took the lead thanks to Antoine Semenyo's goal in the first half, but was immediately equalized by a very impromptu move by Gibbs-White.
From Ola Aina's deep cross, Igor Jesus headed backwards. In a situation where Ruben Dias was tightly marked and almost no space was left, Gibbs-White unleashed a heel shot into Gianluigi Donnarumma's net.
After Rodri put City ahead 2-1 with a header from Rayan Ait-Nouri's corner kick, Anderson coordinated beautifully with Callum Hudson-Odoi before finishing neatly into the corner of the goal. That goal was enough to help Forest avoid defeat at Man City's home ground in the national championship for the first time in nearly 30 years.
Anderson also made an important contribution to Forest's resilient defense efforts, helping the away team stand firm against Man City's late-match pressure. City believes they deserve two penalties - one in the Matz Sels collision with Erling Haaland and one when Anderson fouled Rodri. However, the referee did not consider those to be fouls.
Savinho had a golden opportunity in the final ball of the match, but his shot was cleared by Murillo right on the goal line. After the match, when asked what his team needed to do better, Guardiola frankly replied to score.
However, what makes Guardiola more worried is probably that Man City has dropped 13 points from the matches they took the lead in this season.
Since the beginning of the year, they have led Chelsea, Brighton, Tottenham Hotspur and Forest but only won 4 points out of a maximum of 12 points. With one unmatched match and Arsenal going away to the Etihad in April, Guardiola is still optimistic.
There are still 9 matches left. Arsenal has less than one match left and now they will meet Newcastle on Saturday. I always think about what is ahead, not thinking too much about other things.
In general, we have analyzed and found that it was a good performance, with many positive points. Of course, there are still things we need to improve in some aspects" - Guardiola added.
That improvement may come from summer contracts, and Gibbs-White and Anderson are among the names mentioned. But at the present time, while still wearing the Forest shirt, they have just damaged Man City's championship ambitions.
