Rooney backs VAR as Dyche fumes after Man City edge Forest in fiery 2-1

Manchester City left the City Ground with three points and a storm swirling behind them after a 2-1 victory over Nottingham Forest — and the post-match headlines were nicked by a VAR row that split the studio. Wayne Rooney, in the pundit’s chair, backed the officials; Sean Dyche, incandescent, most certainly did not.

The match, in brief

Pep Guardiola’s side kept up the chase on Arsenal with a rugged away win. Tijjani Reijnders struck three minutes into the second half to put City ahead, only for Forest’s bright spark Omari Hutchinson to level on 54 minutes. With the game finely poised, summer recruit Rayan Cherki produced the decisive moment on 83 minutes, lashing a right-footer that John Victor couldn’t keep out after a corner routine caused chaos.

The flashpoint everyone’s debating

The winning goal arrived seconds after a Phil Foden corner was recycled — Foden’s delivery, Josko Gvardiol’s header back across, Cherki’s finish — but attention zeroed in on a tussle between City’s 2026 World Cup hopeful Nico O’Reilly and Forest talisman Morgan Gibbs-White. As the ball came in, the pair tangled, Gibbs-White went down, and the City Ground erupted. VAR paused the restart, checked the coming-together, and then cleared the goal.

Rooney’s verdict

Rooney went against the grain of the home crowd. His take was blunt: Gibbs-White was the instigator, not the victim — he hooked O’Reilly’s arm, locked a leg, and effectively dragged the City youngster down. From Rooney’s view across multiple angles, the officials got it right and the goal rightly stood. If you’re weighing up where to put your weekend flutter, that sort of clear-eyed reading is what the sharp punters on the best betting sites crave.

Dyche’s fury with VAR

Dyche saw it completely differently. He felt it was a simple call for both referee Robert Jones and the team at Stockley Park — a clear push on Gibbs-White that directly impacted the phase leading to the goal. After a display he believed merited more, he was left lamenting what he perceived as officials “affecting the game.” It’s another sore one for Dyche against Guardiola; across 17 Premier League meetings, he still hasn’t found a win — two draws, fifteen defeats tells its own tale.

The Dias debate

If Rooney backed the VAR call on the winner, he was far less forgiving over Ruben Dias. Already on a booking, the City defender clipped Igor Jesus in a moment of sloppiness. Rooney’s assessment? That looked like a second yellow offence and Dias was fortunate to stay on the pitch. On another day, City might have been finishing with ten.

Context and consequences

For Forest, there were positives in the performance and Hutchinson’s spark, but the table is an unforgiving judge. Dyche’s side remain perched just above the relegation places, separated by five points from 18th-placed West Ham. Gibbs-White, whose mooted switch to Tottenham collapsed in the summer of 2025, remains central to their fate — and on nights like this, every marginal call feels magnified.

Final word

Strip away the noise and you’re left with a classic Premier League cocktail: a tight game, a key set-piece, and a decision that will fuel the phone-ins for days. Rooney’s call — that Gibbs-White did the grappling — aligns with the officials’ reading, while Dyche’s frustration is entirely understandable from the losing dugout. What’s not up for debate is City’s knack for finding a way; Guardiola’s men keep the pressure on at the top, and Cherki looks more at home with every touch.