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Manchester City snapped a seven-game winless streak with a decisive 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest and Pep Guardiola celebrated the win as a crucial turning point, saying it had broken the team’s habit of losing matches.
“We needed it,” said the City manager, who also ended his own worst run of results in his illustrious career. “The most important thing was to break this routine of not winning games and finally we won, but we have to continue.
“The club, the players, everyone needed to win. After recent events, we weren’t truly relaxed until the final whistle.”
Kevin De Bruyne’s return to the starting lineup was marked by a stellar performance.
The oft-injured Belgian dazzled, scoring a goal, assisting another, and dominating City’s attacking efforts in his first start in over two months. However, Guardiola cautioned about managing the midfielder’s workload.
“We’ll see how he recovers after a long injury layoff. The reality is he played few games last season and this season,” Guardiola said.
City’s grueling December schedule adds to the concern, with a match against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
“Three days, three days — we’ll see how De Bruyne feels,” Guardiola said.
City defender Nathan Aké was forced off late in the game with a hamstring injury, a concern given his previous five-week absence this season.
“Nathan doesn’t look good. We’ll assess the situation tomorrow,” Guardiola said. “He couldn’t continue, and we’ll know more in three days. I’m disappointed for Nathan.”
Manuel Akanji was also sidelined for the second half due to an injury, though Guardiola indicated it’s less serious.
“We’d love to have Manu and Nathan, and two defensive midfielders. They’re fantastic people and players,” Guardiola said.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.