Nottingham Forest secured a stunning 3-1 victory over Manchester City at the City Ground, inflicting a third consecutive Premier League defeat on the visitors. Jair Cunha opened the scoring in the sixth minute after a Josko Gvardiol error, and Liam Delap added a brace to put Forest in command. Rayan Cherki pulled one back for City, but they could not complete a comeback.
Manager Enzo Maresca acknowledged his side failed to match Forest's intensity and suffered from defensive lapses. The loss leaves City six points behind Arsenal after 10 games, heading into the international break searching for answers.
Historically, only two teams have overturned a six-point deficit at this stage to win the title: Manchester United in 2002-03 and City themselves in 2013-14 under Manuel Pellegrini. Brighton could further reduce the gap to five points with a win over Brentford on Sunday.
City's defensive frailties were exposed again, with individual errors leading to all three Forest goals. Former Forest winger Steve Stone described the backline as disjointed, while former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy questioned the team's mentality and suggested arrogance may have played a part.
Record signing Enzo Fernandez has managed just one goal or assist in his last nine games, and the midfield partnership with Ilkay Gundogan appears ineffective. Maresca was forced into defensive changes at half-time due to injuries to Gvardiol and Marc Guehi, further disrupting the back four.
The defeat marks the first time since November-December 2024 that City have lost three straight league games. They become only the second side in English top-flight history, after Sheffield Wednesday in 1904-05, to win their first seven matches and then lose the next three. It was also their first loss by two or more goals to a side starting the day in the relegation zone since November 2008.
