The reigning champions and Premier League leaders had raced into a 2-0 lead against Forest inside 15 minutes at the Etihad thanks to goals from Phil Foden and Erling Haaland.
But the match was then transformed two minutes after the restart when Rodrigo was shown a straight red card for violent conduct.
With Forest enjoying a numerical advantage it meant City had to stay disciplined and resolute at the back in order to protect our lead as we reverted to a five-man backline.
That we did to great effect as we made it six wins out of six and extended our lead at top of the table to five points.
And reflecting on the win, Pep made a point of praising his players for how they went about their work under extreme pressure from the visitors in what was a feisty affair featuring 10 bookings as well as the red card.
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“Playing 10 against 11 for 44 minutes plus seven injury times minutes... it’s a lot of minutes (with 10 men) and they defended incredibly well,” Guardiola said.
“We conceded one chance on 95 minutes and there was an incredible save from Ederson but not a lot else against a team that won at Chelsea, created problems at Arsenal and Old Trafford, and with the the physicality they have and the bench they have I’m really satisfied.
“How many times we played with five at the back and three in the middle maybe we will learn but today we did it really well.”
Play the video to watch Pep’s press conference in full...
