Nottingham Forest is in a sharp decline (one point from three matches), while Manchester City is on a slight rise (having beaten Newcastle and Tottenham in the last three rounds). The match at the City Ground was an ideal opportunity for the still reigning English champions to make a push in the race for a Champions League spot and take third place from the biggest surprise of the season in the Premier League.However, City missed that opportunity. Not only that, but they also took a step backward, as Callum Hudson-Odoi’s late goal further complicated their fight for a spot in the top five teams of the league.Manchestery City lost in the ForestFive, because with the results of English teams in Europe this season, England is set to have five representatives in the Champions League next year. But no one can guarantee that this City team will finish in the top five, given their current form.This is not just because of their inconsistent and subpar performances, but also due to the fact that Brighton, with four consecutive wins, has closed the gap to just one point behind, Aston Villa is two points behind (with one game in hand), Newcastle could level on points with them if they beat West Ham on Monday, and Chelsea will overtake them if they fulfill their role as favorites against Leicester today.City have now lost 15 of the last 30 games across all competitions. The previous 15 defeats before that came over 169 games dating back to December 2021. 😢 [via @spbajko] pic.twitter.com/HrM23m35sJ— mcfc lads (@mcfc_lads) March 8, 2025 Despite the crisis, City managed to attract some of the more attractive and talented players on the market in January. The four-time reigning English champions spent over 200 million euros on reinforcements in January, but this has not positively reflected on their results.Since February, City has suffered five defeats in nine matches across all competitions and has been eliminated from the Champions League. However, Rio Ferdinand doesn’t believe the problem lies with the new signings:”I don’t think they brought in bad players, I just think those players arrived at a time when things weren’t stable. City has players and a coach—you can’t bet against them.”PEP 💬 (On the race for Champions League football) We have 10 games to qualify, we have to win games to qualify and we move on to the next one.We knew the game would be difficult. Every season the Premier League gets better and better. We have 10 finals and the next one we… pic.twitter.com/jeW8PLvmF2— Manchester City (@ManCity) March 8, 2025 Or can you? City now faces ten matches—or as Pep Guardiola called them, ten ‘finals’—to try and avoid ‘catastrophe’ for the rest of the Premier League season.”We have ten matches to qualify for the Champions League. We need to win games to qualify, so we’re focusing on the next one. Every season, the Premier League gets better and better. We have ten ‘finals’ ahead of us. We’re not winning enough games in a row to be safe. We need to do something, nothing will fall into our lap,” warned the Spanish manager to his players.##NAJAVA_MECA_8763435##
