City Watch: Blues stunned at City Ground

A few weeks ago, Manchester City were flying, sitting proudly at the top of the Premier League with seven wins from seven and Enzo Maresca making history in his first season at the club.

Fast forward to now, and we are heading into the international break having lost our last three league games. There is still plenty of football to be played, but the last couple of weeks have certainly brought us back down to earth.

There was at least some encouragement in Germany last Wednesday, where City travelled to face RB Leipzig in the Champions League knowing that a victory would be important after the disappointment of our recent league results. It was never going to be a straightforward evening against a side with an excellent home record, and that proved to be the case, but three points were ultimately secured in a thrilling 3-2 victory.

City took the lead just before half time, although we had Castello Lukeba to thank for that one, with the Leipzig defender turning Nico O’Reilly’s cross into his own net. The hosts came out with considerably more purpose after the break, however, and levelled almost immediately through Ridle Baku, whose effort from a tight angle somehow found its way past Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Enzo Fernandez restored City’s advantage with a powerful header from an excellent Iliman Ndiaye cross, only for Leipzig to respond again just three minutes later. Antonio Nusa finished well to make it 2-2, leaving City with another game to rescue. Thankfully, Erling Haaland was on hand to do exactly that, sliding in at the far post to convert Elliot Anderson’s cross with 12 minutes remaining and secure a valuable away victory.

It was not a particularly comfortable evening, and Leipzig certainly gave us plenty to think about, but there is no point being overly critical of a 3-2 Champions League away win. Three points are three points, and the victory moved City up to seventh in the league phase table, keeping us firmly in the mix for automatic qualification. Haaland once again proved his importance, while Anderson continued to impress and Fernandez showed exactly what he can offer in the final third.

There was, however, another moment that will do little to silence the growing questions surrounding Donnarumma. Baku’s equaliser was particularly concerning, with the Italian seemingly anticipating a cross rather than preparing for the possibility of a shot. The effort came from a tight angle and, quite frankly, was one that a goalkeeper of his reputation should be doing better with. He did make a good save earlier in the second half, but these uncomfortable moments are becoming a recurring theme.

Donnarumma arrived with a reputation as one of the best shot stoppers in the world, yet we are still waiting to see that consistently. His distribution has already been questioned, and when he is not producing the saves that are supposed to be his greatest strength, it becomes increasingly difficult to overlook the areas of his game that do not necessarily suit City’s style. It is a concern that Maresca will need to address, because the goalkeeper position should be a source of confidence rather than another question mark.

Unfortunately, any optimism from Leipzig lasted less than 72 hours, as Saturday’s trip to Nottingham Forest delivered another disappointing afternoon. Following defeats to Aston Villa and Brighton, this was the perfect opportunity to get our Premier League campaign back on track before the international break. Forest had endured a difficult start to the season under new manager Oliver Glasner and were sitting in the relegation zone before kick-off. On paper, it was exactly the sort of fixture we needed.

Instead, it turned into one of our worst performances of the season, with a catalogue of defensive errors and sloppy moments proving costly. Forest started with far more intensity than City, and after just six minutes Jair Cunha opened the scoring, dispossessing Josko Gvardiol before driving forward and finding the bottom corner. It was a dreadful start, and things got considerably worse when former City academy player Liam Delap doubled the home side’s advantage just 12 minutes later.

Delap drove through the middle of the pitch before finishing confidently past Donnarumma, leaving City with a mountain to climb before we had even reached the 20 minute mark. There was something particularly frustrating about watching a player who came through our own academy cause us so much trouble, especially given that his time at Forest has hardly been filled with spectacular performances. On Saturday, however, we made him look like prime Thierry Henry.

City did improve after the break, with Maresca making changes that helped us find a little more attacking rhythm. Rayan Cherki produced a wonderful strike in the 52nd minute to give us a lifeline, and for a brief period there was genuine hope that we might be able to salvage something. Haaland came close to finding an equaliser, but just as City appeared to be building momentum, Delap struck again.

A swift Forest counter attack caught us out, with Delap finishing brilliantly off the far post to make it 3-1 and put the result beyond doubt. It was a fantastic finish, but once again the defending left plenty to be desired. We were chasing the game, leaving ourselves exposed, and Forest punished us for it. The hosts deserved their victory, and there can be very few complaints about the outcome.

The defeat means City have now lost three consecutive Premier League games and sit six points behind Arsenal at the top of the table. That is a significant change from where we were just a few weeks ago, but I still do not think it is time to panic. I have said throughout the season that our early winning run was not necessarily a reflection of a team that had everything figured out. We were winning games, but there were warning signs in our performances, particularly defensively, and eventually those issues were always going to catch up with us.

What is more concerning is the manner of these defeats. We have looked vulnerable, sloppy and far too easy to play through, while our attacking players have not always been able to compensate for the mistakes happening behind them. Maresca has plenty of quality at his disposal, but he needs to find a way of making this team more balanced and, above all, more reliable.

Perhaps the international break has arrived at just the right time. Three defeats in a row is not the sort of form anyone wants to carry into the next month, and the manager now has a couple of weeks to reflect on what has gone wrong and work on putting it right. When Premier League football returns, Fulham will be the visitors to the Etihad, and there is no doubt that City need to come out of the blocks looking like the side that started this season so brilliantly.

Seven wins from seven has become three defeats in a row, and while I am certainly not pressing the panic button, I am also not going to pretend everything is fine. The quality is there, but the performances need to improve, and they need to improve quickly. Maresca has already shown what this team can do at its best. Now he needs to show he can get us out of this rut.