What Morgan Gibbs-White said to Elliot Anderson after brilliant Nottingham Forest goal vs Man City

Morgan Gibbs-White joked that a goal for teammate Elliot Anderson was “long overdue” after the midfielder rescued Nottingham Forest with a 2-2 draw against Manchester City.

Gibbs-White had made it two goals in as many games by cancelling out Antoine Semenyo’s early opener at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night.

However, after Forest conceded again soon after, it was Anderson’s brilliant strike that secured a vital point for the Reds on their trip to the northwest.

The 23-year-old curled a sublime effort from 25 yards — his second of the season and first since November — a goal that could prove crucial in Forest’s fight to avoid relegation.

Scoring has been a challenge for Vitor Pereira’s side this term, but their performance against City demonstrated what they are capable of.

Gibbs-White praised Anderson’s performance, saying: “What a player he is. He deserves all the credit he’s getting — he’s a hell of a player. When the ball is at his feet, anything can happen. He’s excellent both defensively and going forward. I told him: ‘It’s about time you scored another goal this season, I’ve been waiting for ya!’

“The second goal shows we can play good football. We built it down the right-hand side, switched it into the middle, executed a perfect one-two, and finished brilliantly. Elliot has talent in abundance and proves it week in, week out.”

Gibbs-White now has double-figure goals across all competitions this season. His audacious back-heeled finish against City was a standout moment, coming after Igor Jesus nodded an Ola Aina cross toward him.

“Oh wow,” Gibbs-White told TNT Sports while watching the goal back. “It’s a bit of hope and instinct kicking in. For the style I like to play, that’s more impressive than the goal against Brighton last Sunday. The Brighton one, I just hit it and hoped it would go in!”

Anderson admitted Gibbs-White’s equaliser acted as a catalyst for the team. Trailing at halftime, Forest came out fighting in the second half.

“I was just trying to catch up with the play, and he dug it out,” Anderson said. “It was a fantastic finish and gave the team belief. It’s massive. We’ve had a poor run, but we knew we’d have to fight hard against a top side. We’ve earned a point from being behind, and we’re very happy with that.”

He added: “It keeps us pushing. We have a strong team spirit, and it’s unfortunate the results haven’t reflected that. The effort from everyone has been incredible. We’ve got a few days off after a packed schedule, then we’ll return to training and keep fighting to collect points in this battle.”