Manchester City are third. They have lost three Premier League matches in a row, and after Saturday’s defeat at the City Ground Enzo Maresca turned to a familiar explanation.
“In this kind of match, you need to match the intensity and try to win duels. Otherwise it’s complicated,” the City manager told Goal after the game. He added that City had lost every first-half duel and conceded two before they could react.
Liam Delap scored twice for Nottingham Forest, whose 3-1 home win was their first at the City Ground this season. Rayan Cherki pulled one back in the second half. Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Hull City the same weekend, settled by a Martin Ødegaard strike in the 72nd minute, left Mikel Arteta’s side on 27 points. City are on 21 from ten, six behind.
‘We won seven in a row. Now we lost three in a row’
The slump is a hard reset. Maresca had opened his first campaign with seven straight Premier League victories, briefly putting City top of the table. Successive defeats to Aston Villa, Brighton and now Forest have ended that.
Read also: Simeone urges patience after Alvarez fails to punish the club that wanted him
“I’m always concerned, even when we win games. Again, we need to have a balance. We won seven in a row. Now we lost three in a row,” Maresca told Goal.
He conceded that City are leaking too many goals and said the two-week international break would be used to work out why. Across the three defeats, City have produced 4.99 expected goals for two scored and allowed 2.76 xG for six conceded.
The sale that exposed more than it created
That is where the sharper diagnosis starts. In a tactical breakdown this week, FourFourTwo argues that pointing to mistakes or desire misses the point: City’s deeper problem is a structural one, and Maresca’s summer recruitment has made it worse rather than better.
City sold Rodri, the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner, to Barcelona in August. The initial fee was reported at £65.4m, with the full package worth up to €76.5m with add-ons. They did not sign a traditional full-back to replace Kyle Walker’s old profile, and FourFourTwo notes that City’s four consecutive league titles were all won with at least one orthodox full-back on the pitch.
Read also: Mourinho named La Liga Coach of the Month as Real Madrid stretch winning run to eight
The pair Maresca is using instead invert into midfield in possession, pulling cover away from the back line and exposing an Elliot Anderson, Enzo Fernández and Cherki midfield to direct runs. Opponents are driving through the gap. Internal numbers over Rodri’s seven years at the club back up the dependence: City won 71.5% of the games he played in and only 62.3% of those he missed.
Fulham next, Arsenal away on 29 November
City host Fulham at the Etihad on Saturday 21 November, then travel to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday 29 November to face Arsenal, with the return fixture at the Etihad scheduled for 30 January.
Read also: Cucurella responds to Lamine Yamal’s bold claim: “I prefer to stay silent”
