City’s second straight league defeat puts Maresca’s problems in focus

Manchester City have lost successive Premier League matches for the first time in 14 months after Brighton beat them 1-0 at home on Saturday, leaving manager Enzo Maresca to tackle problems in defence, midfield and attack.

The defeat followed City’s loss at Aston Villa the previous weekend. They remain top on goal difference, but Arsenal can overtake them if they beat Liverpool on Sunday. City have conceded 10 goals in nine league games, twice Arsenal’s tally, and have kept just one clean sheet in their past eight matches in all competitions.

Matheus Nunes made the costly error against Brighton, while goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and defender Marc Guehi were blamed for mistakes at Villa.

Maresca said City had created enough to deserve more from the Brighton match, but needed to be more clinical. He defended the team’s attitude and said the players had fought until the end. He also acknowledged that defensive errors were costing his side.

The manager is still assessing his midfield options after a summer overhaul that followed the departures of Bernardo Silva and Rodri. Against Brighton, he started Enzo Fernandez, Elliot Anderson and Ayyoub Bouaddi together, leaving Rayan Cherki and Phil Foden on the bench. Maresca said he had expected a physical contest and viewed the selection as a good option.

City had 21 shots against Brighton but failed to score, ending a run of 23 consecutive league games in which they had found the net. They have scored only once across their past two league matches, despite creating nine big chances, according to BBC Sport. Maresca said City were still among the league’s leading scorers, but needed to stop conceding avoidable goals.

Their next chance to respond comes away to RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Wednesday.