Maresca admits Man City 'didn't match the intensity' in Forest defeat
Manchester City's title defence is unravelling at the worst possible time, and Enzo Maresca has now admitted his players failed to match the physical intensity required in their latest defeat, a 3-1 loss at Nottingham Forest that leaves City six points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal.
City have now lost three league games in a row, a stunning collapse after winning their opening seven fixtures of the season. At the City Ground, Forest raced into a 2-0 lead inside 18 minutes before Rayan Cherki pulled one back for the visitors. Liam Delap's second goal of the game then settled it, handing Forest their first win over City at home since April.
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Speaking after the match, as reported by football.london, Maresca pointed to a lack of duels as the difference at Forest, distinguishing it from City's previous two defeats to Aston Villa and Brighton.
“They are all different,” Maresca said. “I think they are all different, in terms of if you see chances, possession, shots, touches inside the box. All the three games we were much, much better, but we lost all of them. So there is something that, for sure, we need to do better. In the two previous games that we lost, I never mentioned about duels. This kind of game, first of all, required to match the intensity, otherwise you struggle. And we didn't match the intensity. We need to understand the reason why and try to avoid the next games. It's something that we need to understand the reason why and for sure, if we want to win games, we need to improve that.”
Maresca sees international break as timely reset
With City now heading into the November international break on the back of three straight losses, Maresca suggested the timing could actually work in his side's favour, despite his usual preference to respond to a defeat immediately.
“When you lose a game, you always want to go again immediately,” Maresca said. “You know, to try to win games. But I think this international break is (good) also because it's the last one until March, so it's also good for the players. And when we come back, we will try to win games.”
Arsenal in control at the top
Arsenal will head into the same international break sitting six points clear at the summit, with City's stumble handing Mikel Arteta's side significant breathing room in the title race. Whether that gap narrows or grows will largely depend on how Maresca's players respond once domestic action resumes, but for now the pressure in the race for the Premier League crown sits squarely with the champions rather than the leaders.
Arsenal will use the international break to regroup and prepare for the resumption of their own campaign, with the chance to further stretch their advantage if City's wobble continues into the winter months.
