Maresca's winning run collapses as Manchester City lose 3-1 at the City Ground
Enzo Maresca watched Manchester City lose 3-1 to Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Saturday evening in a Premier League match, ending a seven-game winning start and extending their losing run to three league games.
The defeat made City only the second side in English top-flight history to win their first seven matches and then lose their next three, after Sheffield Wednesday in 1904-05. After starting the season with seven straight wins, City have now suffered defeats against Aston Villa, Brighton and Forest. The club have lodged an appeal after being found guilty of breaking Premier League financial rules; that process is ongoing and it is not yet known what potential sanctions City could face.
The match turned early when Josko Gvardiol gave the ball away for Jair Cunha to open the scoring in the sixth minute. Liam Delap then took full advantage of City’s lapses, scoring twice, while Iliman Ndiaye and Elliot Anderson were involved in the confusion that led to the second goal and Matheus Nunes failed to make a challenge for the third. Rayan Cherki's stunning strike provided City with a late response but they could not overturn the deficit.
Maresca criticised the team's intensity after the game, saying: "The first half we didn't match [Forest's] intensity or win duels or second balls. The first thing required in these games is intensity. "We tried to react at 2-0 but it's too late. We scored one, probably could have scored more but in transition we concede one more. No panic. We need to understand but no panic." Asked why the intensity was low, Maresca replied: "I need to analyse that." He also revealed he had withdrawn both Gvardiol and Marc Guehi at half-time because of injuries, with Matheus Nunes moved to right-back, Abdukodir Khusanov shifted inside and Nico O'Reilly deployed on the left.
The game was a difficult return to the City Ground for Elliot Anderson since his £116m move to City in the summer, and the report said the midfield dynamic alongside Enzo Fernandez does not seem to be working. The Argentine should have scored with a headed chance from close range but spent much of the game complaining in referee Sam Barrott's ear. Fernandez had scored in the midweek Champions League win at RB Leipzig, but that is his only goal or assist in his past nine games.
Former Forest winger Steve Stone, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, focused on City's defensive display: "Before the game all the talk was about individual errors. Apart from the first goal, this hasn't been about that - the line is disjointed. "The full-backs were very wide. If the ball turns over quickly and you pass it with the first pass you can be right through them. They have been exposed today. "Oliver Glasner's team have played through them every time." Stone added: "I came here tonight thinking City would win, I thought they had chances. This is a real hammer blow to them, there is something not right about the back four at the minute. "I have never seen a City team give the ball away so much in the middle of the park." Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy also criticised the mentality, saying: "I thought City's performance was poor in terms of mentality. "To make so make so many mistakes when you go anywhere in the Premier League, but especially to a team who are fighting for the lives, and you know they're going to come after you. "They were sloppy with the ball, not winning duels. I would even probably go as far as saying there was probably a bit of arrogance at the start of the game from them. "I think that there are now some big questions to ask the manager about how he gets them back on track. I think with the talent they have got, it is not going to be a big problem. "But I think defensively, maybe sticking to the same backline for a little while is the way forward."
The result completed a run of three consecutive Premier League defeats for City for the first time since a sequence of four in November-December 2024 and represented their first league loss by two or more goals to a side starting the day in the relegation zone since November 2008 (a 2-0 defeat to Bolton Wanderers).
With Arsenal having edged past Hull earlier in the day and keeping another clean sheet, City head into the international break searching for answers after the 3-1 defeat and sit six points behind the champions. Fabian Hurzeler's Brighton can move up to second and five points behind the Gunners should they beat Brentford, and Maresca will have the international break to work on his side and "work out how to get the best out of Fernandez during the international break."
