Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has pinpointed exactly where his side’s latest defeat went wrong, after a disastrous start at the City Ground condemned the visitors to a 3-1 loss against Nottingham Forest and a third consecutive Premier League defeat.
City were blown away early on, falling behind inside six minutes when Jair Cunha capitalised on a defensive mix-up to beat Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Liam Delap then doubled the hosts’ advantage in the 18th minute with a driving solo run from deep, leaving Maresca’s side chasing the game before the half-hour mark had even arrived.
Rayan Cherki pulled one back just after the restart, giving City a route back into the contest, but Forest had the final word. Delap completed his brace in the 73rd minute, finishing off the post after Morgan Gibbs-White sprung a swift counter-attack to seal a result that leaves serious questions hanging over Maresca’s team.
“In football, most of the time, it’s too late”
Speaking after the match, Maresca was candid about where the game had been lost, pointing to his side’s reaction once they had fallen behind rather than any lack of overall quality.
“In the last three games we lost, in terms of numbers – possession, shots, clear chances – we were much better than the other team.
“But they are all different games, and today the big mistake has been we tried to react after we conceded two. In football, most of the time, it’s too late,” he said.
He went further in dissecting exactly how City had been undone on the counter-attack, identifying a repeated pattern behind the goals that proved decisive.
“The second and third goals that we conceded in transition, they are copy and paste. The second one, we lost duels in the middle of the pitch, and the third one we lost a duel on the edge of their box.
“And from there, if you make mistakes or don’t win duels, you can concede transitions,” Maresca added.
A defence under growing scrutiny
The defeat extends a troubling run at the back for City, who have now gone eight games without a clean sheet.
Maresca was forced into a double change at half-time, withdrawing both Marc Guehi and Josko Gvardiol, though the Italian has since said the substitutions were down to injury rather than performance.
It marks the first time since 2024 that City have lost three straight league games, a run that has transformed the mood around the club in a matter of weeks.
Abdukodir Khusanov also endured a difficult afternoon at right-back before being shifted into a central role for the second half, another indication of a side still searching for balance under its head coach.
Nottingham Forest, by contrast, were full value for their win. Oliver Glasner’s team pressed with intensity from the first whistle, won the physical battles in midfield, and were ruthlessly efficient in transition when the opportunities came.
It was Forest’s third-straight home Premier League win over City, a sequence that will only add to the growing sense of discomfort among the visiting supporters.
International break offers a chance to regroup
With the Premier League now pausing for international fixtures, Maresca will have a fortnight to address the issues before City return to action.
According to the club’s post-match comments, cited by the BBC, the manager has stressed there is “no panic” despite the alarming run of results, insisting instead that lessons need to be learned quickly from a pattern of conceding in transition that has now cost his side dearly in consecutive matches.
