The noise. What a result, what a performance, what a team, what a manager. But first of all, the noise. That was something else entirely.
The City Ground at its spine-tingling, goosebump-inducing, absolute best. Magic, pure magic. The volume and the atmosphere on a completely different level.
The stadium erupted when Chris Wood netted Nottingham Forest’s equaliser with little more than five minutes to go. And the players were roared over the line as Manchester City piled forward, desperately seeking a late winner. Everyone was on their feet, as the players on the pitch were out on theirs. But it wasn’t just that, the levels had been building before then, too.
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Taking on the reigning champions, a team who had put six past the Reds in their previous meeting, perhaps some had arrived with hope more than expectation of getting anything from the game. But Steve Cooper is all about inspiring belief.
With every save Keylor Navas made, every heroic piece of defending and every opening missed by the visitors, that began to build. A sense grew that something special might be possible.
Forest were applauded off at half-time, at 1-0 down, supporters acknowledging the effort which had been put in and how the hosts were still in with a chance. Whatever was going to happen, there was an appreciation that great strides had been made since that thumping at the Etihad. “That meant a lot,” said Cooper.
The Welshman thanked the crowd for recognising the game-plan - that footballing principles were being set aside to cope with a top-class team who have the ability to pick most opponents off at ease, with the aim of trying to get something on the counter.
“We’re a real unit here, aren’t we,” he said. “Everybody that steps foot in this stadium when the game kicks off. I’ve never felt part of something as together as what we have - not just at this moment, but for a long while now, actually since I came in. We’ve got to keep that going.”
The game-plan
Defensive is not Cooper’s way. Particularly at home.
But City are not your average opponents. They showed that in the reverse fixture, and Cooper’s views had been reinforced by watching them beat Aston Villa live last Sunday, then seeing them topple Arsenal by the same 3-1 scoreline on TV in midweek.
Opting to play without an out-and-out striker, he packed the midfield in a bid to contain the visitors. There was a lot of experience in the centre of the pitch, too, in Jonjo Shelvey (on his full debut), Remo Freuler and Jack Colback (who did as efficient a job as ever).
The visitors had 84 percent possession in the first half, but other than pick the ball out of the net following Bernardo Silva’s stunning strike, Navas hadn’t had too much to do.
"It is difficult to stick to the plan, especially when you go 1-0 down in the first half; you’re trying to get the players to try to stick to the plan, when they're probably thinking, 'we probably need to do something different',” said Cooper.
"What we said to them at half-time was, 'keep going, we'll make changes around the 60-70-minute mark and then we'll see where the game goes'. It could have gone away from us, for sure, but we managed to stay in the game and to get an equaliser.”
Pep Guardiola’s side had a string of chances after the break. Cooper admitted his team “got away with it” when Erling Haaland somehow missed from a few yards out.
“While we were trying just to edge a little bit more forward, they were getting more chances,” he added. "If we'd gone really open in the game and played as we normally do, then they'd have been even more dangerous
"It had just started to go that way, because we were trying to get back in the game. We ran the risk, no doubt - and they missed some good chances. But there was some good defending as well.
"And then we got our moment. It's a great goal, and then we managed to see it out.”
The goal
When it came, the leveller was as good as anything City can produce. A wonderful team goal which saw every player touch the ball at least once, starting with Navas, and which featured 19 passes before Wood slotted home Morgan Gibbs-White’s cross at the far post.
Forest moved it around with confidence, then hit the title-challengers with pace, courtesy of Brennan Johnson. Cooper felt City could be exploited down their left flank, and it came off. The understanding which is developing between Johnson and Gibbs-White continues to go from strength to strength.
After three starts, which had triggered the purchase obligation clause in his loan deal from Newcastle United, Wood had been on the bench for this one. He has had a tough start to life at his new club, having struggled to make an impact in those first few games - not helped by the fact he saw little of the ball.
This time, he had one chance, and he took it. Give him more opportunities like that and he’s bound to get a few more. The entire move demonstrated what this side is capable of.
There was a nervous wait - as there always is nowadays - as VAR checked the goal. Cooper had sprinted straight over to the fourth official, Josh Smith, after the ball had gone in, not wanting to celebrate, just in case. Smith told him it was going to be a tight call.
When the nod came, the Reds head coach turned to his bench and jumped for joy. Owner Evangelos Marinakis, who was in the stands, leapt out of his seat and punched the air.
The performance
Any notion that a team spirit which had developed since the beginning of the season would be disrupted by more new arrivals in January has gone right out the window. Forest are as much a collective now as at any time since they turned a corner earlier in the campaign.
They fought, they were defiant, and they never gave in. And they played for each other; Gibbs-White and Johnson being prepared to see less of the ball than they would like in order to help their team’s cause.
A particular shoutout goes to the defence, however. Joe Worrall and Felipe were warriors at the back.
The former set the tone with a big block on Jack Grealish early on. To play the best part of 75 minutes on a yellow card while up against City’s attacking threat took great discipline, too.
The lack of central defensive cover is still a concern for Cooper. But if he did have other options, it would take something to oust Felipe from the XI now. The deadline day signing has slotted straight in at the back. He was superb, typified by a goal-saving intervention shortly after the break - although VAR might well have intervened for an offside if Haaland had scored.
Running him close for the Man of the Match award was Navas. He made some brilliant saves to keep hope alive, including one which seemed to hit a very delicate part of his anatomy. Come the end of the campaign, he will no doubt have earned the Reds a few more points.
The result
There was an airing of Just Can’t Get Enough after the final whistle - it did almost feel like a victory. But no Cooper fist-pumps. The manager insisted they do only make an appearance when three points have been claimed.
He spent time with the owner immediately afterwards, and apologised profusely for keeping members of the media waiting as a result. Marinakis must surely reflect on that new contract decision as one of the best calls he has made.
There is still a long way to go in the battle for survival. Plenty of twists and turns to come. Results for a number of other sides at the bottom end of the table made Forest’s point even more valuable.
But aside from the effect it had on the standings, what it can also do is inspire even more belief and confidence. There was a particularly loud chorus of “Forest are magic on and off the pitch” which rolled around the City Ground during the game. Cooper has overseen a fair few special moments on the banks of the Trent. This was another one.
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