Maresca: 7 straight wins, then 3 straight defeats—we must stay level-headed and avoid panic

On November 8,, Man City lost 3-1 away to Nottingham Forest in the 10th round of Premier League fixtures. After the match, City manager Maresca spoke to the BBC’s Match of the Day programme about his team’s performance and the defeat.

Talking about the match

Maresca said: “The situation is clear: in the first half, we lacked intensity and failed to gain the upper hand in duels and battles for second balls. The first thing a game like this demands is intensity. After falling 2-0 behind, we tried to respond, but it was already too late. We scored a goal and perhaps could have scored more, but then conceded another in transition.”

Discussing the reasons for the lack of intensity in the first half

Maresca said: “I need to analyse the reasons behind it. Today may have been the first time we lacked intensity in the first half, although we improved in the second. This has never happened before, and we need to understand why and work to prevent it from happening again.”

The first goal we conceded was a consequence of the way we want to play. We want to build from the back, so these things can happen. The second and third goals were very similar: we lost our duels and then conceded in transition. Unfortunately, we are conceding too many goals and need to improve in that area.”

How to turn things around

Maresca said: “We need to use the international break to identify what went wrong and work to prevent it from happening again. Defeats always concern me, but we need to keep things in perspective. We started the season with an unprecedented seven consecutive wins, then suffered three straight defeats. We need to stay balanced and not panic. We need to understand what went wrong, but we must not panic.”