Manchester City moved five points clear at the top of the Premier League despite having Rodri sent-off in a fiery 2-0 win...

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On Tuesday, Pep Guardiola had been happy to eulogise about Rodri, quick to agree when it was suggested his fellow Spaniard was the best midfielder in Europe at the moment. Yet as the man who earned Manchester City their first Champions League trudged past him, Guardiola stood and stared. There were no consoling words, no arm around the shoulder, no superlatives and no celebration. The City manager may have already been counting the cost of a red card. Not against Nottingham Forest, who were beaten anyway, but for the three occasions when he will be without a talisman. Rodri will be banned against Newcastle, in the Carabao Cup, plus Wolves and Arsenal in the Premier League. The loss of a big-game player for the biggest match of City’s season so far could be telling. A couple of seasons ago, Rodri was City’s match-winner against Arsenal. There will be no repeat in October and the chances are that Mikel Arteta will welcome his suspension. Certainly, if anything halts City, who equalled their longest winning start to a Premier League campaign, it could be a loss of key players. Suddenly Guardiola, the manager who collects midfielders, looks short of them. Ilkay Gundogan is gone, Kevin de Bruyne is injured for the long term, Mateo Kovacic and Bernardo Silva for the short term. City will study the fitness bulletins for the Croatian and the Portuguese, particularly ahead of the trip to the Emirates Stadium. A rare sighting of Kalvin Phillips on the pitch, and not merely for the last couple of minutes in a token cameo, counted as a desperate measure, by Guardiola’s standards. If Rodri has acquired a ubiquity of late at City, this was an illustration it is not always a benefit. He has been a scorer more than before and turned creator, with a wonderful pass that led to Phil Foden’s opener. But when there was a flashpoint immediately after half-time, it involved him. After they had bumped chests, he grabbed Morgan Gibbs-White by the throat; the hysterical reaction of the Englishman scarcely helped his cause, but the Spaniard’s reaction was needless. It seemed out of character, too: Rodri is no stranger to yellow cards but this was the first red of his City career. As VAR upheld referee Anthony Taylor’s decision, it is hard to imagine it will be overturned should City appeal. It came in the context of a match that felt unnecessarily fractious. Guardiola got a first-half yellow card for dissent and Ederson a caution for going head-to-head with Taiwo Awoniyi, while Forest amassed seven bookings. Yet Rodri’s exit also meant that from the most comfortable of starts – City had two goals within a quarter of an hour, 90 percent of possession after 27 minutes – they had to offer an illustration of their grit. Plan B for Guardiola was to withdraw two of his attack-minded players, Jeremy Doku and Julian Alvarez, and overload on defenders, with substitute Nathan Ake making it five at the back. Amid a role reversal – Forest, initially defensive, sent on Anthony Elanga, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Chris Wood and Divock Origi - a clean sheet was secured with the aid of a 5-3-1 formation that Guardiola rarely deploys. It was a testament to their defending that there were few alarms. But it made a break from the norm whereas, until Rodri’s sending off, there was a familiar feel. The bare facts are that City have played 20 games at the Etihad Stadium in 2023 and won all 20; it is still the case that the last team to emerge with a draw here were Frank Lampard’s Everton. There was another recurring theme. After scoring once, but mustering several glaring misses, from 15 shots across the games to West Ham and Crvena Zvezda, Erling Haaland converted his first chance. The 6.66 percent conversion rate from those two games was consigned to the past, aided by poor marking by Forest, when Matheus Nunes stood up a cross and the Norwegian supplied an emphatic header. It was a first assist in City colours for Nunes, the summer signing from Wolves, and a second City goal. Haaland should have had a second of the day, volleying over from Ake’s late cross, but by then he was isolated in attack. Forest had begun by dropping captain Joe Worrall, despite fielding a back five. They still conceded inside seven minutes, twice within 14. The opener at least offered Rodri something to savour. He provided the kind of pass more associated with the injured De Bruyne, a diagonal ball behind the Forest defence for the on-rushing Kyle Walker to cushion a cut-back. Foden hooked in a half-volley. It seemed to set the tone for a stroll, but the side-effect of victory – with Rodri’s dismissal – means it may yet prove an afternoon City rue. Read More Pep Guardiola provides positive Jack Grealish update ahead of Man City return Kyle Walker to continue as Manchester City skipper ‘until the time is right’ Julian Alvarez relishing Erling Haaland link-up as Man City launch CL defence

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Crystal Palace and Fulham walked away with a point apiece after their Selhurst Park encounter ended in a goalless draw. Eagles boss Roy Hodgson was back in the dugout after missing last weekend’s loss to Aston with Villa due to illness. The evenly-matched contest saw Eberechi Eze fire just wide late in the first half, while the visitors were unable to capitalise on their best chance after the restart. The result ensures the London rivals will share almost identical Premier League records for another week, with Palace only ahead on goal difference. Sam Johnstone did well to parry away Andreas Pereira’s early effort from the left corner of the penalty area, later diving to deny Willian as the first period ticked past the 10-minute mark. Fulham picked up two bookings in quick succession before Eze floated in a dangerous free-kick which the visitors were able to clear, and boss Marco Silva breathed a sigh of relief after Joao Palhinha was deemed fit to continue after knocking heads with Jordan Ayew in an aerial challenge – for which the Palace man was booked. The hosts earned another free-kick and this time Eze aimed straight for the visiting net, where Bernd Leno was alert to grab the ball. At the other end, Johnstone stooped to first collect Timothy Castagne’s close-range effort at his near post, then was called in to action soon after to turn away Raul Jimenez’s good opportunity to break the deadlock of an increasingly physical contest. Eze looked to do the same when he patiently swerved his way through a cluster of white shirts, unleashing a strike that sailed just wide of the right post, while Leno picked Ayew’s cross out of the air to ensure it remained level at the break. Will Hughes, who was involved throughout the first half, started off the second by forcing Leno into a simple save with an attempt from his preferred left foot. Eze, who had just slipped a fine pass to the Odsonne Edouard, who was caught offside, then saw an effort of his own saved, while Jimenez could only nod Antonee Robinson’s cross wide of Johnstone’s right post. The Cottagers should have taken the lead when Bobby De Cordova-Reid dispossessed Hughes in midfield and worked his way down the pitch. The opportunity was wasted when the Jamaica international slipped in Jimenez, who overcooked his pass to the awaiting Pereira and the chance skipped past his foot. Hodgson made a 70th-minute substitution, replacing Jeffrey Schlupp with Jean-Philippe Mateta, who has so far this season proven a productive partner with the in-form Edouard. Joachim Andersen headed Eze’s corner over and Silva made his first change, swapping Pereira with Alex Iwobi and Fulham enjoyed one of their longest spells inside Palace’s final third, Willian forcing Johnstone into another good save with a sharp effort. Palace had a late chance of their own through Mateta, who saw his weak left-footed shot stopped shortly before four minutes of stoppage time were added to the clock. Hodgson elected to bring on 20-year-old Jesurun Rak-Sakyi for Edouard to see out the final few minutes, where Fulham staged a late rally but were not able to find the finishing touch. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Luton off the mark after come-from-behind draw against 10-man Wolves Man City march on despite Rodri red card Harvey Elliott hails team spirit after Liverpool’s new look midfield impresses

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Manchester City had Rodri sent off as they extended their winning start in the Premier League with an unnecessarily complicated 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest. The champions looked to be cruising to victory after early goals from Phil Foden and Erling Haaland put them in complete control at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. The mood changed dramatically early in the second half when Rodri was dismissed for violent conduct after raising his hands towards the neck of Morgan Gibbs-White. The game became fractious and City lost some of their discipline before manager Pep Guardiola switched to a defensive shape to secure the three points. It was City’s sixth win in succession at the start of their latest title defence but the price of Rodri’s indiscretion is yet to be seen. The influential Spaniard now faces a three-game ban which will include a trip to Arsenal next month. That City made such hard work of victory was extraordinary given their dominant and untroubled start. Julian Alvarez had already forced a good save from Matt Turner from a free-kick when they pieced together a remarkable 46-pass move that led to the opening goal inside seven minutes. The hosts built patiently before Rodri caught out the Forest defence with a superb crossfield ball to pick out Kyle Walker’s run into the box. The England full-back’s touch was equally brilliant as he laid off to Foden with a cushioned volley. Foden then did the rest with a clinical strike. City doubled their lead seven minutes later, this time after a Matheus Nunes run down the right. The Portuguese reached the byline and then centred perfectly for Haaland, scorer of a hat-trick in the corresponding fixture last season, to head home from close range. In spite of some rumblings about the high volume of chances the Norwegian had missed in his previous two games, it was his eighth goal in nine appearances. Forest’s first serious attack ended when Taiwo Awoniyi was tripped on the edge of the area by Manuel Akanji. Both the Swiss and Guardiola – for his protestations – were booked but Gibbs-White’s free-kick came to nothing. Alvarez twice went close to adding to City’s lead before the break as he forced another save from Turner before being denied by a good block from Willy Boly. City’s control temporarily evaporated within minutes of the restart when Rodri got involved in a tussle with Gibbs-White by the corner flag. The pair came face to face as the situation escalated and, amid the pushing and shoving, Rodri placed his hands close to Gibbs-White’s neck. The Forest midfielder ended up on the ground and referee Anthony Taylor showed the red card in Rodri’s direction. City were unsettled and moments later Ederson and Awoniyi were booked after clashing in the area. Guardiola settled his side by sacrificing Jeremy Doku and Alvarez for Kalvin Phillips and Nathan Ake. Forest battled on but did not look like scoring until Anthony Elanga and Boly tested Ederson in injury time. Haaland could have added a third for City but volleyed over after a good run by Ake. There were further scuffles in the closing minutes with Jack Grealish – returning from injury as a late substitute – involved but City saw it out. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Luton off the mark after come-from-behind draw against 10-man Wolves Harvey Elliott hails team spirit after Liverpool’s new look midfield impresses Will Jacks and Sam Hain shine as England post 334 against Ireland