Despite Rodri's red card in a heated clash with Nottingham Forest on Saturday, Manchester City stretched their lead to five points at the summit of the Premier League.
Within the opening 15 minutes, Phil Foden and Erling Haaland netted, solidifying City's flawless Premier League record with six wins.
Pep Guardiola's squad now boasts an astonishing 20 consecutive home victories in all competitions. However, Rodri's impulsive actions added a significant challenge to their latest triumph. In the early stages of the second half, the Spaniard found himself in hot water for grabbing Morgan Gibbs-White around the neck. His potential three-game suspension could force him to miss a crucial Premier League clash with Arsenal next month.
City's dominance was evident from the start, as Foden hammered home a brilliant volley from Kyle Walker's perfectly cushioned cross, opening the scoring. Guardiola, who had previously expressed concern about injuries in his squad, was without Bernardo Silva, Mateo Kovacic, and John Stones, and had Jack Grealish on the bench. Nevertheless, Matheus Nunes, making his first league start since joining the Wolves, made a significant impact by setting up the second goal. The Portuguese midfielder executed a slick one-two with Foden before delivering a chip that allowed Haaland to score his ninth goal of the season with power.
Julian Alvarez had a chance to increase City's lead, but his point-blank effort was blocked. The European champions seemed untroubled until Rodri's moment of recklessness. Forest's best chance to stage a comeback came through Taiwo Awoniyi, who lifted the ball over Ederson under pressure but failed to find the target. Awoniyi and the Brazilian goalkeeper narrowly escaped further punishment as they engaged in a fiery confrontation.
Guardiola responded by switching to a back five to fend off Forest's aerial onslaught, restoring order to the game. Haaland missed a golden opportunity to grab his second when he sent the ball over the bar from Nathan Ake's late cross.
In other matches, Luton secured their first-ever Premier League point but missed a golden chance in a 1-1 draw against Wolves. The Wolves were reduced to ten men after Jean-Ricner Bellegarde received a red card on 39 minutes, yet Pedro Neto managed to put them in front early in the second half. Carlton Morris' penalty later earned Luton a valuable point.
Crystal Palace and Fulham remained in the top half of the table after a goalless draw at Selhurst Park. Meanwhile, Manchester United aimed to halt a three-game losing streak as they faced Burnley later on Saturday. United's title hopes appeared to be fading rapidly as they trailed City by 12 points, and they suffered a 4-3 defeat to Bayern Munich in their Champions League opener during the week.
All the teams closely trailing City in the league standings were set to compete on Sunday. Arsenal hosted Tottenham in the North London derby, Liverpool faced West Ham, and Brighton took on Bournemouth.
