Manchester City dropped points on leaders Arsenal after a 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest on Wednesday night.

Manchester City full-back Matheus Nunes criticised his side’s defending against Nottingham Forest but insisted the Premier League title race is still alive. City dropped seven points behind Arsenal on Wednesday night after drawing 2-2 with Forest.

Antoine Semenyo’s seventh goal for City opened the scoring. Morgan Gibbs-White’s backheel levelled the game ten minutes into the second half. The Blues regained the lead through Rodri’s header but Elliot Anderson’s curled finish ensured the game was drawn. City felt they could have had a penalty when Erling Haaland was brought down by goalkeeper Matz Sels but referee Darren England waved appeals away.

Speaking to the BBC post-match, Nunes was critical of his team, claiming they were too relaxed. “Fantastic goals because we gave them space,” he said. “If you don’t give them space, they have to decide under pressure. We have to be more focused, especially when we are winning – because we have to control the game and not relax.

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“I think we relaxed a little bit after we scored.” Nunes refused to comment on the refereeing decisions but remained optimistic when discussing the title race. “There’s still a lot of games to play, we have a lot of experienced players in the squad,” he explained.

“For sure, we’re going to be ready because we’re still in every competition with good chances to win everything. We’ve been in this position before and we know seven points is a big difference, but we have to do our job.

“If we don’t do our job, in the end we don’t have any chance. It doesn’t matter how many points we are behind [Arsenal], we’re still going to try and chase them.”

City have nine games remaining in the Premier League but their focus now shifts away from the title race. On Saturday, they travel to Newcastle in the fifth round of the FA Cup before a trip to Real Madrid in the Champions League round of 16 first leg.

The Blues’ next Premier League clash is on March 14 when they face West Ham at the London Stadium.