City lose 3-1 at Forest as Maresca blames slow start

Manchester City lost 3-1 at Nottingham Forest on Saturday, and manager Enzo Maresca said his side's failure to match the opposition's intensity in the first half decided the match.

City were two goals down inside the opening 20 minutes after strikes from Jair Cunha and Liam Delap. Rayan Cherki halved the deficit early in the second half with a stunning half-volley, but Delap's second goal, a finish after a counter-attack, settled the result in Forest's favour.

“I will speak quite clearly,” Maresca said. “In the first half when you do not match the intensity and lose all the duels, it is difficult. Then we want to react, but it is too late.”

Maresca added: “We concede one and then two and then we tried to react. But most of the time, when you are two goals down it’s too late.”

The defeat was City's third in a row. After winning their first seven Premier League games, they sit six points behind leaders Arsenal after 10 matches.

Maresca said the international break would be used to analyse recent performances and make the necessary changes. “We know we can do some things better and we know we need to improve things,” he said.