Nottingham Forest held champions Manchester City to a 1-1 draw at the City Ground, with Chris Wood scoring an equaliser late in the piece. It was Felipe who caught the eye, however, with the defender making his first start for the Reds.
This was a game that many Forest fans had written off entirely. When the teams were announced, the Reds fans looked at it with anxiety given how many Pep Guardiola had picked stellar players.
Forest did well during a first half that saw City obviously dominate possession. Bernando Silva broke Forest’s resistance on the stroke of half-time and a Reds team from earlier in the season might have folded like a cheap deckchair.
These days, Forest are a more together bunch of players, with Steve Cooper learning each game. The Reds came back out with the intention of staying strong defensively and hitting City on the counter.
Cooper’s substitutes changed the game and in the 84th minute, they got their rewards. A good team move that involved 19 passes eventually saw Morgan Gibbs-White fire a cross beyond Ederson with Chris Wood on hand to tap home.
The City Ground was sent into pandemonium. Forest’s home has often been a place of incredible atmosphere since Cooper took charge but this result might be the most important of the season.
Felipe is quality as Manchester City are held by Nottingham Forest
The 33-year-old was thrust into first-team action against the champions. He replaced Scott McKenna on the left-hand side of the back two, with the Scotland man facing months out through injury.
Felipe was up against Erling Haaland and frankly, he never gave him a kick. The former Atletico Madrid man was solid, intelligent and carried the ball out from the back extremely well.
Who Scored showed just how good he was. He made no fewer than 10 clearances and also had 45 touches of the ball throughout a 90-minute performance that belied his experienced years.
Felipe was a transfer deadline day signing. He will come up against worst strikers than Haaland this season and it’s exciting just how good the player can be for Forest over the next few months.