Pep Guardiola said his Manchester City side have "10 finals" left in their quest to finish in the top four after falling to defeat at Nottingham Forest on Saturday. 

Guardiola watched on as Callum Hudson-Odoi scored the only goal seven minutes from time to move Nuno Espirito Santo's side four points clear of City. 

The Citizens have now lost nine Premier League games this season, their joint-most in a single campaign under Guardiola (also nine in 2019-20).

They have also failed to score in four top-flight matches in 2024-25, only in 2016-17 (five) have they done so more often under the Spaniard. 

City could drop out of the top four should Chelsea beat Leicester City on Sunday, with Newcastle United and Bournemouth also within striking distance. 

Guardiola's side face the likes of Manchester United, Aston Villa, Bournemouth and Brighton in their final 10 games of the season, and the City boss acknowledged the importance of being perfect in their run-in. 

"We have 10 games to qualify, we have to win games to qualify, and we move on to the next one," said Guardiola. 

"We knew the game would be difficult. Every season the Premier League gets better and better. We have 10 finals and the next one we start."

According to Opta's data-led simulations, City finished in the top four 77.3% of those outcomes. 

City ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.85 from their 14 shots, but could have snatched a point late on, but Mateo Kovacic could only fire wide. 

Forest kept their 12th clean sheet of the season in the Premier League and their eighth win at the City Ground, with only Liverpool (10) boasting a better home record. 

And Guardiola highlighted the difficulty of playing away against Nuno's side, but said his team should have been more clinical in front of goal in the vital moments. 

"We controlled the long balls to [Chris] Wood and second balls in transition. But in the second half we lost once in transition and Hudson-Odoi finished it really well," he added. 

"It is not easy to play against them. That is why they are where they are. We had three or four chances in the first half. In the second half it was a bit more tight.

"We conceded one chance in the near post, so in the end the balance was for them."