Man City player ratings vs Nottingham Forest as two stars dazzle with 8/10

Manchester City returned to winning ways with a 3-0 Premier League victory over Nottingham Forest.

Kevin De Bruyne returned to the starting lineup for the first time in over two months and made an instant impact, helping the team to end a seven-game winless run that was their worst set of results in nine seasons under Pep Guardiola. Jeremy Doku added to first-half goals from Bernardo Silva and De Bruyne to make the game safe with half an hour to go.

City have climbed back into the top four given Brighton do not play until Thursday evening but will be encouraged by the performance and result. Here are the player ratings for the game.

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Ortega: A fine save in the first half to deny Gibbs-White and his distribution helped to keep City on the front foot. 7

Akanji: Picked at right-back and earned a booking after ending up on the wrong side of a Forest attack. Taken off at half-time. 5

Dias: Could not manage to stop Wood running clear but did well organising and coming forward with the ball. 6

Ake: Some nice balls forward through Forest lines and an assured presence at the back. He has been missed too. 7

Gvardiol: Very good going forward, still problems defensively. Par for the course, although it was promising to see him stay so high. 7

Gundogan: More signs of improvement on a night when he had the holding role to himself. Still some worries though. 6

Silva: Another who showed more energy, zipping in balls from the right wing on top of his usual shift. 7

De Bruyne: A goal and an assist on his return, as well as an aura that lifted the whole team. Let him talk and let him play as much as he possibly