According to a report by Football London on Sunday, November 8, 2026, Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has admitted that his players need to improve their intensity as they seek to recover from a disappointing run of results and reduce the gap between themselves and Premier League leaders Arsenal.

City entered the November international break after suffering a 3-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest, marking their third consecutive loss in the Premier League.

The result leaves the defending title challengers six points behind Arsenal, following a dramatic downturn in form after they won their first seven league matches.

Maresca believes the international break could give his players an opportunity to regroup and regain their confidence before the Premier League resumes.

"When you lose a game, you always want to go again immediately,” he said. “You know, to try to win games.

“But I think this international break is (good) also because it’s the last one until March, so it’s also good for the players. And when we come back, we will try to win games.”

City's latest defeat at the City Ground came after earlier losses against Aston Villa and Brighton, further increasing concerns about their recent performances.

Against Nottingham Forest, Maresca's team conceded twice in the opening 18 minutes before Rayan Cherki reduced the deficit. However, Liam Delap scored his second goal of the match to seal a 3-1 victory for the hosts.

Despite the disappointing results, Maresca maintained that the three defeats came in different circumstances, pointing to City's performances in possession and their attacking statistics.

“They are all different,” he said. “I think they are all different, in terms of if you see chances, possession, shots, touches inside the box. All the three games we were much, much better, but we lost all of them.

“So there is something that, for sure, we need to do better.”

However, the Italian admitted that his players failed to match Nottingham Forest's physical intensity, describing it as a major weakness they must address.

“This kind of game, first of all, required to match the intensity – otherwise, you struggle.

“And we didn’t match the intensity. We need to understand the reason why and try to avoid the next games.

“It’s something that we need to understand the reason why and for sure, if we want to win games, we need to improve that.”

With Arsenal maintaining a six-point lead at the top of the table, City face an important period after the international break as Maresca looks to restore consistency and keep their Premier League title hopes alive.