Guardiola was relieved after Manchester City ended their seven-match winless streak

Pep Guardiola said he was relieved his Manchester City side had ended their recent miserable run after a comfortable 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest.

Kevin De Bruyne, back in the starting line-up for the first time in over two months, was the star of the show as the Belgian helped himself to a goal and an assist at the Etihad.

Bernardo Silva and Jeremy Doku also got on the scoresheet on a night where Guardiola's side, despite showing some defensive frailties, showed glimpses of their former selves.

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And the City boss was understandably pleased to see his side back to winning ways.

“We won, we won. “We definitely needed it,” said Guardiola.

“We won, we made a performance that was really good.

The result moves City up one place to fourth in the table, although Guardiola was quick to stress that they are a game in the making.

Asked if this was a sign that the City of Old is back, Guardiola said: “I don't know, we have to prove it again.

“It's only one game, but it's important to end this streak.”

“I'm happy to do 70 minutes”

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On De Bruyne's performance, Guardiola added: “He (De Bruyne) was excellent, especially in the first half.

“When he is fit, he is very important for us. “He had an incredible impact on our team.”

Speaking about returning to the starting eleven after such a long spell, De Bruyne said: “I'm trying to get a little bit of a handle on it. But when I'm on the field, it makes us do what I did, but sometimes it's my downfall.

“In the second half I tried to manage it and control it a little bit. I'm happy I was able to do 70 minutes. It's a big improvement over what I've been doing lately.”

Meanwhile, Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo was dignified in defeat but admitted that missing a few good chances may have cost his side in the end.

“We have many lessons to learn,” he said.

“We faced a very good team. We should have done better with the chances we had that could have changed the momentum of the game.

“But overall the team fought, the team competed, but City are hard to stop.”

Next up for City is a trip to Crystal Palace on Saturday, while Forest return to Manchester with a visit to Old Trafford.