At the start of the 2025–26 Premier League season, Manchester City haven’t looked quite like themselves. After a solid opening-day win against Wolverhampton, they’ve since dropped points in back-to-back games against Tottenham and Brighton, leaving them with just three points from their first three matches.
Belgian winger Jérémy Doku didn’t hold back when asked about the club’s unimpressive start. “Things aren’t going very well,” he admitted. And he wasn’t just commenting on results. He flagged a concerning pattern: the team tends to lose focus after conceding a goal. “Mentally, we need to be stronger,” Doku said, pointing precisely at what he believes is hampering City’s rhythm.
Add to that the club’s truncated pre-season. After competing in the Club World Cup in June, City only resumed training on July 28, a much later restart than usual. Doku reminisced about his time at Anderlecht, where he enjoyed a full six-week pre-season—a luxury he hasn’t had in five years. It’s a schedule mismatch that likely contributed to City’s sluggish start.
City’s struggles haven’t gone unnoticed by Pep Guardiola either. After the Brighton loss he lamented that his team “forgot to play,” criticising their shift to long-ball football and a general lack of composure. The early dominance faded as Brighton’s substitutes made the difference, reminding Guardiola—and City—of the fine margins that can tilt momentum in a game.
Where things are going wrong
| Issue | Insight |
|---|---|
| Mental resilience | Doku emphasized that conceding throws the team off—City’s mental response needs fortification. |
| Lack of proper pre-season | A late return to training likely disrupted fitness, sharpness and cohesion. |
| Tactical regression | Guardiola observed a turn to long balls and loss of control in key phases, signaling a deeper loss of identity. |
Digging deeper
For Manchester City—used to dictating games—their current form may feel uncharacteristically fragile. The mental fragility Doku described echoes Guardiola’s frustration: losing composure mid-game. There’s an unsettling overlap between their mental outlook and on-pitch execution.
Doku’s candidness is significant. As a young player with explosive talent, his directness shows he’s engaged with the club’s identity. And he’s trying to help steer the ship back on course. His remarks aren’t deflective; they’re constructive. Admitting that “our heads drop a bit too much when we concede” is the first step toward correction.
The implied message is that City’s issues aren’t purely tactical or physical—they’re structural and psychological. A lack of pre-season exposure may explain poor sharpness, but faltering resolve after one setback speaks to mindset.
Yet the tone is not all doom and gloom. Doku, who has been rotated out of the starting XI after the Wolves game, remains optimistic. He sees the upcoming international break with Belgium as an opportunity to regain momentum, form and confidence.
The missing core philosophy—play from the front, dominate the ball—must be recovered. And in his own way, Doku appears ready to help lead that charge.
Final thought
City’s start to the season has exposed a fragile side—one where a lapse in concentration leads to full plateaus lost. But Doku’s willingness to acknowledge the issues—coupled with Guardiola’s admission of what went wrong against Brighton—shows a team self-aware enough to course correct.
Mental resilience, rhythm in training, tactical clarity—if City can recover those, there’s no reason they can’t return to the dominance they’ve grown accustomed to.
