Kyle Walker has encouraged Manchester City to bounce back from their "unacceptable" 1-1 draw away against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Citizens entered the contest at the City Ground after losing their place at the top of the table following Arsenal's dramatic 4-2 win at Aston Villa in the lunchtime kickoff.
Pep Guardiola's side required a victory against Forest to return to the summit, and they appeared to be on course to claim maximum points courtesy of a 41st-minute strike from Bernardo Silva.
However, despite dominating proceedings with 73% possession and 23 shots, City struggled to convert the plethora of chances that they created, and that proved costly as substitute Chris Wood netted an 84th-minute equaliser to rescue a point for Forest.
As a result, the Citizens remain second in the Premier League table and are now two points behind leaders Arsenal, who also have a game in hand.
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Walker, who played the full 90 minutes at the City Ground, praised Forest for their efforts to draw level late in the game, but expressed his disappointment after City dropped two precious points in the title race.
"First and foremost we go to the Emirates Stadium and play the game we did, and then come here, it's unacceptable," said Walker via mancity.com.
"If we want to compete with teams near the top we need to win. We missed a few chances and we need to do better as a team.
"Sometimes it's football and sometimes it's emotion. Every game should be treated the same – like a cup final. What can I say other than it is unacceptable.
Walker has now urged his teammates to show unity and improve in the weeks to come, adding: "We have to stick together as a group. The senior members of the team put our thoughts across. That is just not acceptable.
"We have to give credit to Nottingham Forest. They dug in and hung on. We have to do better."
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Meanwhile, Guardiola has rued the number of missed opportunities to put the game to bed, but stated that City's performance was "one of the best" so far this season.
"We did really, really good. It was a really, really good game. We had amazing chances but it's football. We have to score," Guardiola told BBC Match of the Day. "We did everything. You have to do it. There were too many clear [chances] to score.
"It is one of the best games we have played but we drop two points. We should be more aggressive. There are many games still to play, we know it."
Man City, who have won only one of their last five away games across all competitions, now turn their attention to Wednesday's trip to Germany where they will face RB Leipzig in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, before taking on Bournemouth away from home in the Premier League three days later.
Oliver Thomas
