Marisca explains heavy defeat to Nottingham

Enzo Maresca, the manager of Manchester City, admitted that Nottingham Forest deserved to win 3-1 during the clash between the two teams in the 10th round of the Premier League.

Mariska said in statements to "Sky Sports": "When you can't keep up with the opponent in the first half in terms of physical strength and lose all the duels, things become difficult. And when we try to react, it's too late."

He added: "In such matches, you have to match the intensity of the competition and win the duels, otherwise things always become complicated. We weren't good enough in the one-on-one battles and the second balls during the first half, and we lost them all. And when we tried to come back, we were two goals down, which makes the task difficult in football."

Manchester City manager spoke about the goals conceded by his team, saying: "For the first goal, we were trying to build play and move the ball out. The second goal came after we lost duels in midfield, and for the third goal, we lost the individual battle near their penalty area. We need to match the strength of the opponent in such matches."

Regarding the changes he made at the start of the second half, Mariska explained: "Marc Guéhi asked to be substituted due to injury, as he had a problem during the first half, and Gvardiol was also dealing with a minor issue throughout the week. We were not good enough in the first half, and we did not deliver what a match of this intensity requires."

He continued: "The second half was better, but we shouldn't wait to concede a goal or two before we start reacting; we need to be present from the beginning."

The Italian coach commented on Manchester City's recent decline in results after losing three consecutive matches, saying: "This is football. We won the first seven consecutive matches, which has never happened before, and now we have lost three matches in a row. We have to try to improve from game to game."

Regarding the extent of the ongoing acquaintance process between him and the players, he said: "Of course, I didn't know them before, and now we have spent three or four months together. They need to get to know me, and I also need to get to know them. It's a journey of continuous learning."

He concluded: "We know the things we do well, but we also have to understand the aspects where we are not performing at the required level, and we need to work on improving them."