Nottingham Forest were beaten by Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final, with the Reds missing out on a place in the showpiece final against Crystal Palace.
The Reds gave it everything at the national stadium as Pep Guardiola produced a masterclass to stifle Forest and leave Nuno Espirito Santo to rue a missed opportunity.
On another day, Forest might have been on the other end of the result, with Morgan Gibbs-White striking the woodwork on two occasions and Anthony Elanga also missing a strong chance.
The Forest head coach sprung some surprises with his team selection and now he will have some conundrums to crack ahead of Thursday’s game against Brentford at the City Ground.
Garry Birtles makes Nicolas Dominguez claim after Forest lose to Manchester City
The Argentine performer has started seven of the last eight games in the Premier League and has also been instrumental during the brilliant FA Cup run that Forest have experienced.
He’s been a bit of an unsung hero for Forest this season, forming a nice midfield partnership with Elliot Anderson and earning the trust to be a regular starter under Espirito Santo.
Birtles, however, felt that Dominguez looked tired and when quizzed on the sub-standard performance made by Danilo, the Forest legend also noticed something about Dominguez against City.
He told the Forest Focus podcast: “I think Dominguez as well, he wasn’t his usual self. You know, when he came off, he looked shattered, it was like he’d been playing for three days. There were times I was watching him and when he lost possession, he was just jogging back. You’ve got to get back. That probably didn’t help Danilo either.”
Nicolas Dominguez stats vs Manchester City
The central midfielder has been largely brilliant for Forest in the middle of the park during the current campaign but Sunday probably wasn’t his strongest performance.
The player did struggle a lit bit to keep his energy levels up and perhaps the shorter performance can help him recover properly to be in contention to face Brentford.
| Nicolas Dominguez stats vs Manchester City | Total |
| Minutes | 82 |
| Tackles | 3 |
| Clearances | 4 |
| Pass Accuracy | 89.7% |
Dominguez has proved himself time and time again this season, however, and there is no need for any knee-jerk reactions when analysing his latest performance.
The 27-year-old is a very important part of the Forest team and ultimately, he’s going to prove extremely pivotal as the Reds hunt down a Champions League spot between now and the end of the season.
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