# Nottingham Forest Manager Steve Cooper Urges Team to Take Opportunities After Defeat to Manchester City
Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper has urged his team to take opportunities after they failed to capitalise on Rodri’s sending-off during a 2-0 defeat at Manchester City. The defeat was a disappointing result for Forest, who had been hoping to take advantage of the numerical advantage they had been given.
The match, which took place on Saturday 19th September, saw Manchester City take the lead in the first half through a goal from Raheem Sterling. Rodri was then sent off in the second half for a second yellow card, giving Forest a chance to get back into the game. However, despite their numerical advantage, Forest were unable to make the most of it and City doubled their lead late on through a goal from Phil Foden.
Speaking after the match, Cooper said: “We need to take opportunities when they come our way. We had a great chance to get something out of the game when Rodri was sent off, but we weren’t able to take advantage of it. We’ll have to learn from this and make sure we’re ready for the next opportunity that comes our way.”
The defeat leaves Forest in 11th place in the Championship table, with 10 points from their opening seven matches. Cooper will now be hoping his side can bounce back and start climbing the table, starting with their next match against Reading on Saturday 26th September.
Fans of both teams can watch highlights of Saturday’s Premier League action on Match Of The Day on Saturday 23 September at 22:30 BST on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website & app. The show is available to UK users only.
It remains to be seen whether Nottingham Forest will be able to take advantage of the opportunities that come their way in the future. With Steve Cooper at the helm, they will certainly be hoping that they can start climbing the table and make a push for promotion this season.