First the ball, now the pitch! Ruben Dias adds to Man City’s list of excuses in underwhelming season from defending Premier League champions

City fell to a narrow defeat at Forest on Saturday in the Premier League and after the match, defender Dias claimed the dry playing surface made things "more difficult" for his side. This follows less than a week after manager Pep Guardiola said the ball used in their FA Cup win over Plymouth Argyle was "not right".

The Portugal international said: "With the pitch dry it makes things a bit more difficult. It was [the same] last season and at Fulham too. It depends on the weather as well and goodwill from everyone to make the game fast."

City are on course to have their worst season in years. They are out of the Champions League and Carabao Cup, have no chance of defending their Premier League title, and now their excuses are mounting as well.

City, who have dropped to fifth in the Premier League and now face an uphill battle to qualify for the Champions League, host sixth-placed Brighton next Saturday in the league.