Nottingham Forest beat Manchester City at the weekend, and Steven Gerrard has pinpointed the exact point he conceded that the Reds might improve.

Liam Delap was hailed by Troy Deeney after his two goals fired Forest to a big three points and the team’s first on home soil for the City Ground fan base to enjoy.

Delap was the man of the moment, but this was about the team effort, with Ryan Yates showcasing his quality after being handed a first start of the campaign.

Gerrard has now admitted that he sensed things might be different for Forest this weekend and has now suggested when might be the worst time for opposing teams to play at the City Ground.

Steven Gerrard hails City Ground atmosphere

Gerrard believes that playing Forest under the lights during a winter month could be detrimental, with the former Liverpool midfielder suggesting he sensed Forest were bang up for their game with City from the off.

Forest raced into a 2-0 lead after just 18 minutes, and ultimately, City weren’t at the races in the first half and paid the ultimate price for their slow start.

Gerrard believes that he sensed something would be different from the moment he turned his TV on and saw the Forest players and fans prepare for a cold City Ground clash.

He said on The Overlap Daily: “I put the TV on 10 minutes before kick-off, and you can see the City Ground all misty, you can tell it’s cold, but the central camera is panning around the fans, and the fans are right up for it. They’re not only up for it, but you’re thinking, ‘I think we might see a different performance here’ – and we certainly did.”

Gerrard is right. Forest will want to make the City Ground more of a fortress after a barren period, and with the next home game being on a Friday night, that could bode well.

The Reds need to start climbing the Premier League table, and in order to do that, more points are going to be required on home soil, with more of the same from Saturday required.

Forest need to make sure this performance against City isn’t a flash in the pan, and hopefully, the fans can be toasting a number of top performances on the banks of the River Trent in the coming months.