EPL: Why Man City lost 3-1 to Nottingham Forest – Maresca

Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has explained the reasons behind his team’s 3-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Saturday at the City Ground.

The result marked City’s third consecutive Premier League loss, following their previous defeats against Aston Villa and Brighton.

Nottingham Forest took the lead through Jair Cunha before Liam Delap doubled their advantage with a powerful finish.

Although Rayan Cherki pulled one goal back for City, Delap completed the scoring with a powerful finish after a quick counter-attack.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Maresca admitted that his players struggled to match Forest’s intensity during the first half and failed to win enough individual battles.

“First half when you don’t match intensity and lose all the duels it’s difficult,” Maresca said.

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He added that City’s attempt to respond came too late, especially after they had fallen two goals behind. “Then when we want to react, it’s too late. In this kind of match, you need to match intensity and win duels, otherwise it’s always complicated. Then when we went to react we were 2-0 down and in football that is always complicated.”