Man City Stumble Again as Arsenal Strengthen Premier League Lead
Manchester City 's Premier League title defence has suffered another setback after Nottingham Forest handed them a third consecutive defeat, winning 3-1 at the City Ground on Saturday to leave the champions six points behind leaders Arsenal. City had begun the campaign with seven straight victories.
Three defeats in succession have now changed the picture, leaving Enzo Maresca's side facing fresh questions about their form and defensive problems as Arsenal move further ahead. The latest setback came against a Forest side who had not won or scored at home in the league this season.
Yet Oliver Glasner's players produced the more determined performance, punishing City's mistakes to claim a result that lifted them out of the relegation zone. Make Fellow Press part of your everyday news experience.
Liam Delap doubled the advantage 12 minutes later, finishing a move that exposed City's problems in midfield. The visitors struggled to impose themselves before the break.
Erling Haaland came close after rounding goalkeeper Matz Sels, but Jair Cunha cleared his effort off the line. City showed signs of recovery after half-time when Rayan Cherki fired a superb strike into the net in the 52nd minute.
The goal offered Maresca's team a route back into the contest, but Forest refused to surrender their advantage. Delap settled the match in the 73rd minute, finishing a counter-attack after Morgan Gibbs-White found him in space.
The former City forward's second goal sparked wild celebrations among the home supporters and left the visitors with little time to respond. Maresca admitted that his team had failed to match Forest's intensity.
"In the first half, when you don't match the intensity, when you lose all the duels, it's difficult," he said, adding that City had reacted too late after falling two goals behind. Delap, who had scored only once in his previous eight league appearances, said the team had been creating chances without finding the net.
He was pleased that their work finally produced a result. The defeat followed losses to Aston Villa and Brighton, extending City's difficult run to three league matches.