Jeremy Doku says international break has come at the right time for Manchester City

Manchester City winger Jeremy Doku says the international break gives his side an opportunity to recover and reassess after their shock 3-1 Premier League defeat by Nottingham Forest.

The result was City’s third consecutive league loss and left them six points behind leaders Arsenal in the table.

Belgium international Doku was critical of City’s first-half display at the City Ground, where Nottingham Forest took a 2-0 lead inside the opening 18 minutes.

“First half we were behind 2-0, playing away to a side like this and losing 2-0 is making things difficult for ourselves,” Doku said after the match.

“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. We reacted too late. If we had started the game like this it would have been different.”

City improved after the interval but could not overturn the deficit, with their third successive defeat increasing the pressure on the team in the Premier League title race.

Doku believes the break in club football provides an opportunity for the squad to regain focus and identify what needs to improve.

“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.”

Manchester City will return to Premier League action in two weeks, when they host Fulham at the Etihad Stadium.