Manchester City winger Jérémy Doku has admitted that the upcoming international break comes at the ideal time for the team to reset following a damaging defeat to Nottingham Forest that further derailed their Premier League title push.

City’s loss on Saturday leaves them trailing league leaders Arsenal by six points. After opening the campaign with seven consecutive victories, Enzo Maresca’s side have now slumped to three straight Premier League defeats for the first time in two years, leaving them with little room for error as Arsenal continue their strong form with a 1–0 win over Hull City.

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Reflecting on the match via the club’s official website, Doku conceded that a poor first-half performance ultimately left City with too steep a hill to climb.

“First half we were behind 2-0, playing away to a side like this and losing 2-0 is making things difficult for ourselves. We are used to playing every two days. That’s not a reason. 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,” Doku said.

“We reacted too late. If we had started the game like this it would have been different. In the second-half we played without brakes, we were very offensive and tried to create things. We scored early but a team like this are very dangerous on counterattacks.”

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Looking ahead, the Belgian international emphasized the need for the squad to clear their heads and refocus before returning to domestic action.

“We need to be fresh minds, start again and analyse what we can do better and move forward,” Doku added. “The international break comes at the right moment for us to analyse and come back refreshed.”