'I never point fingers' - Man City blink first in title race

Highlights: Forest fight back twice to rescue draw at Man City Pep Guardiola's Manchester City have blinked first in the Premier League title run-in as they stumbled to a draw against Nottingham Forest . City led twice through Antoine Semenyo and Rodri against relegation-threatened Forest but failed to see out the game and now lie seven behind leaders Arsenal . Guardiola's men have a game in hand against Crystal Palace but this could be a gameweek where the momentum and belief swings in the direction of Mikel Arteta's men. City had 70% possession and 21 shots but their inability to hold on to a lead could prove crucial come May, as they have now dropped a whopping 13 points from winning positions this season. "It is a lot but there are games that maybe we didn't deserve it but today we played, in general, good for 90 minutes," said Guardiola. "You have to stop transitions, long balls you have to defend but it's not about this action or that action, in general the game was well played. "We created a lot against a team so defensive, a really good team, [which is] more dynamic." Man City stumble as Forest claim unlikely draw Man City 'did everything' to beat Forest - Guardiola January signing Semenyo has hit his stride quickly at City and looked like being a difference-maker in the title race after his winner at Leeds United on Saturday. Against Forest, he scored his seventh goal since arriving from Bournemouth to give City a 1-0 advantage at half-time. But a familiar story then unfolded. The statistics show City have dropped off in the second half of matches - had games finished at half-time, Guardiola's side would sit 13 points clear of Arsenal but instead find themselves seven points adrift. Forest had twice fallen behind but managed to hit back through Morgan Gibbs-White's superb instinctive backheel and Elliot Anderson's stunning curling effort. The reaction from the City players at full-time was telling, heads bowed and shoulders slumped in the knowledge that these were two crucial points dropped. "I would like to concede fewer but it's not about analysing one specific action," said Guardiola. "I never point fingers at my players. We did everything. "We had the chances at the end and in the first half and the momentum. But something always happens and we could not win." Arsenal kicked off at the same time as City on Wednesday and capitalised by scraping a 1-0 victory at Brighton . " Arsenal can keep playing badly and winning all they like - it's the others that are faltering," former England goalkeeper Rob Green said on BBC Radio 5 Live. " Manchester City are faltering and you just look at this Arsenal side and how they go about winning games, they manage to just grind out results and that's all they've done tonight. They don't care, they won." Pereira praises Forest 'spirit' as they earn vital draw at Man City Leading 2-1 in the second half, City's star striker Erling Haaland ran through on goal and went down after contact with Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels. Referee Darren England did not award a penalty and video assistant referee Tony Harrington felt there was no need to overturn the decision. It left City captain Bernardo Silva questioning the officials, telling TNT Sports: "We are used to this [happening] this season. All the 50-50s have gone against us. "The Erling incident - for me it is a penalty. What can Erling do? This season we are used to it. We know how it works. "Our job is to be better. These things we cannot control. What we can control is our own performances. That is what we must focus on." Guardiola was not getting drawn into a discussion on the incident, adding: "I spoke weeks ago about that subject. "I always believe that we have to do it much better so the officials don't intervene. It's our responsibility to do it better, we don't have to rely on them. "Nothing more to say, I said it in the past." 'Only one team tried to play' - Arsenal earn the points, but not plaudits 'I never point fingers' - Man City blink first in title race Watershed moment as Russia's sporting exile ends The 1994 figure skating scandal that shocked the world The rebellious story of the 1993 feud in darts Get up close and personal with Africa's magnificent felines Discover the history of the telephone on its 150th anniversary 'Only one team tried to play' - Arsenal earn the points, but not plaudits 'I never point fingers' - Man City blink first in title race Are big-game players keeping Celtic in title hunt? Watershed moment as Russia's sporting exile ends Carrick looks for 'lessons' after first Man Utd loss Ten-man Newcastle score late winner to beat Man Utd. Video Ten-man Newcastle score late winner to beat Man Utd 'Drive to Survive got me into F1 - now I work at Williams' Liverpool top-five failure 'could cost £120m' BBC Women's Football Weekly. Audio BBC Women's Football Weekly Why does Scotland lead the way on football headers? Man Utd eye wingers, after getting rid under Amorim All you need to know about new F1 cars 'Fin stole my fly-half spot!' – Atkinson on England's new 10-12 combo Haaland? Kane? R9? Ranking the best centre-forwards this century Key areas for Scotland against champions France Should we have high hopes for Hamilton and Ferrari? F1 Q&A 'I cheated head-injury assessment to play on in 2017 Lions Test' 'I knew the risks, I'd do it again' - Moody opens up in new BBC documentary 'There were tears - but I had to peek behind curtain of head injuries in rugby' New era of Formula 1 - what is changing in 2026? Copyright © 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.