City were two goals behind inside the opening 20 minutes after fine strikes from Jair Cunha and Liam Delap.
Rayan Cherki halved the arrears early in the second half with a stunning half-volley, as City suddenly looked capable of mounting a memorable comeback.
But Delap’s second – a brilliant finish after a fine counter-attack – sealed a deserved victory for Forest.
Maresca was honest in his post-match assessment, describing City’s inability to win duels in the first half as a key reason for his side’s defeat.
“I will speak quite clearly,” he said. “In the first half when you do not match the intensity and lose all the duels, it is difficult. Then we want to react, but it is too late.
“It’s quite clear, the first half we were not good, we did not match the intensity that these kinds of games require.
“We concede one and then two and then we tried to react. But most of the time, when you are two goals down it’s too late.
“The second half we started much, much better, we scored one and we could have scored more, and then in transition, after we lost the duel, we conceded the third goal.”
After winning our first seven Premier League games of the season, City have now suffered three defeats in a row – a run that means we now sit six points behind leaders Arsenal after 10 matches.
Maresca says he will now use the international break to analyse his team’s recent performances and make necessary changes.
“We won seven in a row and now we lost three in a row, so we need balance in that,” he said.
“Now it’s the international break and in the same way we have done the first one, we’re going to use this international break to try to clarify what we can do better.
“We know we can do some things better and we know we need to improve things. We’re going to use that and understand how we can avoid these kinds of games.”
BE AT CITY V NAPOLI!
City will look to move a step closer to UEFA Champions League knockout qualification as we face Napoli – and you can be here to cheer on the Blues!
Enzo Maresca’s men take on Massimiliano Allegri’s Serie A side on Tuesday 24 November with a 20:00 (UK) kick-off at the Etihad.
It’s our fifth game in the League Phase following four wins and one defeat and those results have left us seventh in the League Phase with the top eight automatically qualifying for the Round of 16.
Make sure you’re here to support Maresca’s men with tickets now on sale to any Cityzens with an account active before 27 August. It’s up to four tickets per Cityzen - three additional for members on the UEFA Cup Scheme.
You can also make a special night of it with a hospitality experience under the Etihad lights - packages start from £110 per person, with places in City Hall, Crossbar and Zadie’s all available in the new Pep Guardiola Stand as well as 12-seater Platinum Boxes and places in the Asahi Superdry Tunnel Club Premier.
