Erling Haaland missed two sitters against Nottingham Forest on Saturday as Manchester City fell two points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal after being held to a 1-1 draw.
The 22-year-old Norwegian was eyeing a 33rd goal in all competitions in his remarkable debut season in England.
Pep Guardiola’s striker looked likely to find the net after his own effort came back to him off the crossbar.
However, the former Borussia Dortmund player was left red-faced as he got underneath the rebound and blasted the ball into the stands.
It came after Arsenal left it very late to beat Aston Villa 4-2 at lunchtime and managed to climb back to the top of the standings.
City dominated possession and took the lead four minutes before the break with Bernardo Silva slamming the ball into the goal from the edge of the box.
Forest’s January signing Chris Wood tapped home at the far post to level six minutes from time and lift the roof off a damp City Ground.
The champions threw everything at Forest in search of a dramatic late winner.
The Sky Blues could not break the hosts’ resistance, leaving City two points behind Arsenal having played one game more. Forest climbed to 13th.
City beat Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday to drag themselves back to the top of the standings after having trailed the Londoners for much of the season.
‘It is one of the best games we have played but we drop two points,’ Guardiola told the BBC. ‘We should be more aggressive. There are many games still to play, we know it.
‘We had amazing chances but it’s football. We have to score. We did everything. You have to do it. There were too many clear to score.’
‘For me Manchester City are the best team in the world,’ Forest coach Steve Cooper said. ‘They are fascinating to watch and study. There was no shame City had the ball as much as they did.
‘I owe a lot of gratitude to the players for sticking to the plan.
SOURCE: dailymail.co.uk
