Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has admitted that his players must improve their intensity as they look to recover from a disappointing run of results and close the gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal.

According to a report by Football London on Sunday, 8 November 2026, City head into the November international break following a 3-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest, their third consecutive loss in the Premier League.

The result leaves the reigning title challengers six points behind Arsenal, having suffered a dramatic decline after winning their opening seven league matches.

Maresca believes the international break could provide an opportunity for his players to reset before returning to domestic action.

"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 defeat at the City Ground followed previous losses against Aston Villa and Brighton, increasing concerns about their recent performances.

Against Nottingham Forest, Maresca's side conceded twice within the opening 18 minutes before Rayan Cherki pulled one back. However, Liam Delap scored his second goal of the match to secure a 3-1 victory for the hosts.

Despite the disappointing results, Maresca insisted that the three defeats were different in nature, pointing to City's performances in possession and attacking areas.

“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 acknowledged that his players failed to match Nottingham Forest's physical intensity, identifying it as an important area requiring improvement.

“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 holding a six-point advantage at the top, City face an important period after the international break as Maresca attempts to restore consistency and keep their Premier League title challenge alive.