Bernardo Silva publicly criticised the match officiating after Manchester City were held 2-2 by Nottingham Forest at the Etihad, a result that handed momentum back to Arsenal in the Premier League title race.
Silva was particularly aggrieved that Erling Haaland appeared to be clipped by Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels when City were chasing a 2-1 lead, an incident that went to a brief VAR check and was ultimately not given. Moments after the decision Silva viewed as wrong, Elliot Anderson levelled for Forest.
Silva told TNT Sports he felt the club have been consistently unlucky with marginal calls this season, saying essentially that ‘‘all the 50-50s have gone against us’’ and that, after watching the Haaland challenge, he believed it should have been a penalty. He added that the team can’t control refereeing decisions and must instead concentrate on their own performances.
Haaland had another penalty appeal before half-time when he claimed his arm was pulled by Neco Williams, and Rodri also went to ground under contact from Nikola Milenkovic late on, but neither incident produced a spot-kick.
The draw leaves City seven points behind leaders Arsenal — who beat Brighton 1-0 on the same day — although City retain a game in hand. Pep Guardiola conceded the setback but refused to write off City’s title hopes, urging his side to focus on the immediate fixtures, starting with an FA Cup trip to Newcastle, and to take competitions game by game.
Guardiola told TNT Sports that his team had done a lot right in the match and created chances, and that they would move on to the FA Cup and Champions League commitments rather than dwell on contentious decisions.
Sky Sports’ Laura Hunter highlighted the broader consequences of the result: the draw snapped City’s seven-match home winning streak across all competitions and marked the first time they had conceded two or more goals at the Etihad since November. She also noted an unusual pattern for the champions this season — City have dropped 13 points from winning positions — and suggested small margins and a few critical refereeing calls have affected the title picture.
Hunter pointed out that had fine moments gone differently earlier in the campaign — for example a stoppage-time effort from Savinho that was ruled out on the line — the championship equation might look very different now. With the Forest draw removing the mathematical luxury of needing to win every remaining game, the psychological challenge of closing the gap becomes as significant as the fixtures themselves, a shift that will encourage Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal side.