Jeremy Doku against Nottingham Forest on 7 November 2026. Photo: Manchester City. Landscape resize and corner branding added.
Jeremy Doku says Manchester City reacted too late in their 3-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest, but believes the international break offers a chance to reset.
City fell two goals behind inside 18 minutes at the City Ground on Saturday. Rayan Cherki pulled one back after the interval before Liam Delap’s second goal ended hopes of a comeback.
Doku: City reacted too late at Forest
Speaking after the match in comments published by Manchester City, Doku rejected the suggestion that the busy schedule explained the slow start.
“We are used to playing every two days. That’s not a reason,” he said. “If you ask me for the reason for our first half I don’t know. We go behind very early in the game and that changes a lot.”
The winger felt City’s response after half-time showed what had been missing before the break.
“We reacted too late. If we had started the game like this it would have been different,” he added.
Doku said City had played more freely and created chances in the second half, but acknowledged Forest’s threat on the counter-attack.
Maresca points to intensity and lost duels
Enzo Maresca’s assessment followed a similar theme. The City manager said his team had failed to match Forest’s intensity or win enough duels before finding themselves two goals down.
Jair Cunha opened the scoring and Delap doubled the lead. Cherki’s half-volley brought City back into the contest, but Delap struck again after a Forest counter-attack.
It was City’s third consecutive Premier League defeat after winning their opening seven league matches. The earlier home defeat by Brighton was part of that run.
International break offers a reset
Doku believes the pause in club football can help City examine what has gone wrong.
“We need to be fresh minds, start again and analyse what we can do better and move forward,” he said. “The international break comes at the right moment for us to analyse and come back refreshed.”
Sources: Doku’s post-match comments, Maresca’s reaction and City’s official match report.
