Seven wins then three defeats: what changed at City

Manchester City have lost three Premier League matches in a row, and the split in their season is now the most extreme in the division. Seven wins, no draws, three defeats, 21 goals scored and 13 conceded. Third place on 21 points, six behind Arsenal. The international break has arrived with Enzo Maresca's first ten games readable in two halves that have almost nothing to do with each other.

The run that ended

City won their first seven league matches of the campaign, which the club had not done before. The wins were not identical: 2-1 at home to Bournemouth, 4-1 at Crystal Palace, 1-0 at home to Coventry City, 1-0 at Old Trafford, 5-3 at home to Sunderland, 3-0 at Liverpool and 3-2 at home to Ipswich Town. Four of the seven were won by a single goal, and two of those came away from the Etihad, which is usually the sign of a side managing games rather than overwhelming them.

That run produced 21 points from 21 and a defence that had conceded seven times. It also produced a misleading picture, because five of the seven opponents are currently in the bottom half and the two hardest away trips, Villa Park and the City Ground, had not yet happened.

Three defeats, three shapes

The defeats came against Aston Villa (1-2 at Villa Park), Brighton (0-1 at the Etihad) and Nottingham Forest (1-3 at the City Ground). Villa scored twice through Nicolas Jackson and defended deep. Brighton scored after 11 minutes through Yasin Ayari and then defended a lead for 79. Forest scored three, two of them from Liam Delap, against a defence that had conceded 10 in nine.

What connects them is not the identity of the opponent but the moment of the goal. City conceded first in all three, and in the two away defeats they were chasing the game before half-time. A team built to play with a high line and a compact midfield is at its most vulnerable in exactly that state: the opponent no longer needs to build, only to break, and the space behind the defence becomes the most valuable area on the pitch.

The table after ten rounds

The most uncomfortable line is the second one. Brighton have a better goal difference than City by 11 and have scored five more, and Arsenal have conceded five goals in ten matches. Only Brighton have scored more, and nine sides have conceded fewer, which is a respectable profile and not a title-winning one. Six points is recoverable in November; the manner of the three defeats is the part that needs explaining.

The space behind the line

Analysis published this week focused on the defensive line and the amount of ground City leave behind it. The numbers support the argument without proving it: City have conceded 13 goals in ten matches, six of them in the last three, having conceded seven in the first seven. The same squad produced both blocks, which makes it a question of structure and of the risk the structure accepts rather than of individual errors.

Maresca's problem is the one every coach inherits from a dominant predecessor. The squad was built to play a certain way and the habits are deep. Changing the shape of the defending means changing where the team stands when it has the ball, and that is a pre-season job being attempted in an international break.

What the money bought

City spent more than 100 million pounds on each of Enzo Fernandez and Elliot Anderson in the summer, according to reporting around the deals. Neither is a defender, and the three defeats have raised the question of balance: a midfield rebuilt around two expensive ball players offers less protection to a high line than the version that won the last title. That is a reading of the results rather than a claim from the club, which has not discussed the balance of the squad publicly.

Europe, and the appeal

City are seventh in the Champions League league phase with nine points from four matches, 12 goals scored and seven conceded, and they host Napoli next on 24 November. Europe has been the calm part of the season: three wins and a defeat, and a position inside the top eight that would carry direct qualification for the last 16.

Off the pitch, the club were found guilty in September of breaching the Premier League's financial rules and are waiting for the outcome of their appeal, which is due to be heard in December. Matches have continued while that process runs, and the possibility of sanctions remains open. Any assessment of City's season has to hold both things at once: a squad in transition and a club whose competitive future is being decided elsewhere.

What the break is for

• Ten matches: seven wins, no draws, three defeats, 21 points, third place.
• Goals: 21 scored and 13 conceded, a goal difference of plus eight.
• The last three matches produced one point from nine and seven goals conceded.
• Fulham at home on 21 November, then Napoli at home in the Champions League on 24 November.
• The gap to Arsenal is six points, the same as it was after the Forest defeat.

The next fixtures, including the Napoli tie and the Fulham match at the Etihad, are on the matches page. The full division table is on the tables page, and the Champions League section tracks the league phase table that decides who avoids the play-off round in February.