Forest deepen Manchester City’s title worries with 3-1 win

Nottingham Forest beat Manchester City 3-1 on Saturday, leaving Enzo Maresca’s side with three consecutive Premier League defeats and six points between them and leaders Arsenal as the league heads into the international break.

City had won their first seven matches of the season, but their latest loss continued a run of defensive errors. Forest took the lead in the sixth minute when Jair Cunha scored after Josko Gvardiol lost possession. Former City striker Liam Delap scored twice, while Rayan Cherki’s strike offered City only brief hope.

Maresca said City had failed to match Forest’s intensity or win enough duels in the first half. “We tried to react at 2-0 but it’s too late,” he said. “No panic. We need to understand but no panic.” He said he would analyse why the team’s intensity was low.

The result leaves City six points behind Arsenal, who beat Hull earlier on Saturday. That gap could change after Sunday’s Brighton-Brentford match. BBC Sport noted that only two teams have recovered from a position as far behind at this stage to win the title: Manchester United in 2002-03 and City in 2013-14.

City’s defence was disrupted further when Gvardiol and Marc Guehi were taken off at half-time with injuries, according to Maresca. Former Forest winger Steve Stone said the team’s defensive line had looked disjointed, while former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said City had been sloppy in possession and questioned how Maresca would get them back on track.

City have also appealed a finding that they breached Premier League financial rules. That process is ongoing, and any potential sanctions are not yet known.