Pep Guardiola expressed his relief after Kevin De Bruyne’s stellar performance helped Manchester City break their winless streak.
De Bruyne, making his first start for City since mid-September, put on a masterclass at the Etihad Stadium.
The Belgian midfielder scored one goal and set up another as the reigning champions secured their first victory in eight games.
While Guardiola was thrilled to return to winning ways, his joy was dampened by fresh injury concerns for defenders Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake.
Both players were forced off during the match, adding to City’s growing list of fitness issues.
The City boss also dismissed criticism from pundits Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville, who had questioned his decision to limit De Bruyne to just 12 minutes in Sunday’s match against Liverpool.
Pep Guardiola insisted there were no issues between him and the player and praised De Bruyne’s performance, calling it “exceptional.”
“I’m so happy for him,” he said.
“Last season he was many months injured and this season as well, I’m so happy he’s back.
“He fought a lot and he’s back with his physicality.
“The minutes he played at Anfield were really good and then 75 fantastic minutes today.
“We needed this, yeah.
“The club, the players, everyone needed to win, but it’s just one game and in three days we are at Selhurst Park.
“The problems continue with Manu and Nathan, but we proved what an incredible group of players we have at our disposal.
“Nathan doesn’t look good and we’ll see tomorrow.”
Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espírito Santo remained optimistic about his team’s performance despite suffering their third defeat in four Premier League matches.
Espírito Santo suggested the outcome could have been different if Chris Wood had converted a crucial opportunity when the score was 1-0.
“That minute is very important,” he said.
“When we lose three-zero and you come away and say it was a good performance, maybe people don’t understand.
“So I will not say it was a bad performance because there were positive things for us in the game.
“Of course, there are some bad things and mistakes, but we can be proud of ourselves because we tried in this game and that will allow us to grow.”
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