Pep Guardiola: Manchester City had to break the losing routine

Manchester City ended a seven-game winning streak with a decisive 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest and Pep Guardiola hailed the win as a crucial turning point, saying it had broken the team’s habit of losing games.

“We needed it,” said the City coach, who also ended the worst series of his own career. “The most important thing was to break that routine of not winning games and in the end we won, but we have to keep going.”

“The club, the players, everyone had to win. After recent events, we weren’t really relaxed until the final whistle.”

Kevin De Bruyne’s return to the starting XI was marked by an outstanding performance.

The oft-injured Belgian shone, scoring a goal, assisting another and dominating City’s attacking efforts in his first start in over two months. However, Guardiola warned against managing the midfielder’s workload.

“We will see how he recovers after a long injury layoff. The reality is that he only played a few games last season and this season,” Guardiola said.

City’s grueling December schedule adds to the concerns with a game against Crystal Palace coming up on Saturday.

“Three days, three days – we’ll see how De Bruyne feels,” Guardiola said.

City defender Nathan Aké was ruled out late in the game with a hamstring injury, a concern given his five-week absence this season.

“Nathan doesn’t look good. We will 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 with an injury in the second half, although Guardiola indicated it was a less serious injury.

“We would like to have Manu and Nathan and two defensive midfielders. They are fantastic people and players,” said Guardiola.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.