Rocked but undeterred: Man City’s Guardiola seeks return to winning ways
After suffering four straight defeats, the Spaniard’s injury-plagued team face a tricky run of fixtures in lead-up to Christmas
PEP Guardiola is a man who finds himself in unchartered territory these days. For years, he has been associated with winning at all the clubs that he has coached, en route to scooping up one trophy after another.
For the first time in his illustrious managerial career, the 53-year-old has lost four games in a row. He is not one to admit it so readily or even publicly, but the signs are there that his all-conquering Manchester City team might just be fading. Few people – least of all, Guardiola – could have foreseen this dreadful run of defeats that began on the final day of October, especially as City had won six of their previous seven matches before that.
The first loss came at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur as they knocked City out of the Carabao Cup. Some City fans and pundits did not think much of that result in North London, as this competition has always been the least of Guardiola’s priorities. To seemingly illustrate a point, the manager even kept his top scorer Erling Haaland on the bench throughout.
Barely 72 hours later, it was Bournemouth’s turn to cause a shock as the Cherries recorded their first-ever win over City in the English Premier League (EPL). Portugal’s Sporting Lisbon – in what was manager Ruben Amorim’s final home game in charge before he joined City’s rivals Manchester United – resoundingly swept past City 4-1 in the Champions League.
Three defeats became four last weekend with Brighton & Hove Albion coming from a goal down to deservedly win 2-1. A disconsolate Guardiola could only shake his head on the touchline, seemingly unable to comprehend how his team of superstar players crumbled once again.
“I was a football player and many times I lost a lot of games – four, five, six in a row,” he said after the Brighton setback. “I never expect different (because of) the fact that we won in the past, or that we are special. People can believe that but it’s not true.”
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Riddled with injuries
It is not too big of a surprise that City’s losing streak coincides with the club’s growing injury list, with the likes of new Ballon d’Or winner Rodri and Oscar Bobb out of action for the foreseeable future. The influential quartet of Jack Grealish, John Stones, Ruben Dias and Jeremy Doku were among those who missed the 2-1 defeat at Brighton.
Guardiola has not got much sympathy from outside the club, however, given that City have spent an estimated £1.6 billion (S$2.73 billion) on players since the Abu Dhabi United Group completed its takeover in 2008.
The most expensive of the lot? None other than Grealish, who cost £100 million when he signed from Aston Villa in August 2021, which was the largest transfer fee in the history of British football at the time. Guardiola must surely be crossing all his fingers – and maybe even his toes – and hoping that all his other players return from the current international break unscathed, for he can hardly afford to see any more additions to the treatment room.
Tough schedule ahead
City have won four EPL titles in a row and are gunning for an unprecedented fifth, but they will need to get back to winning ways quickly if they are to make that dream a reality. Guardiola’s men have traditionally struggled in the autumn and this season is proving to be no different. Last year, they won just one of six league fixtures in November and December, but later recovered strongly to retain their crown.
The Citizens are now five points behind leaders Liverpool after 11 matches, with the season approaching the one-third mark. Looking at the calendar, they will face a brutal schedule once the international break is over, starting with the visit of Tottenham to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday (Nov 24, 1.30 am kick-off, Singapore time). Feyenoord are up next in the Champions League, followed by games against Liverpool, Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace and Juventus. The next Manchester derby takes place on Dec 16 when they host Manchester United.
Guardiola may not be pressing the panic button just yet, but deep down inside he must be seething at how the string of defeats have allowed Liverpool to build a healthy lead at the top of the EPL and caused City to lose ground in the Champions League. “Don’t be complacent when you win a lot, we know how difficult it is. That makes us believe how difficult it was and how nice it will be when we win again,” he said. “Right now, we are not at our best, it’s obvious. But it’s only November so hopefully we’ll come back step by step. Every game will be tough for every team. We’ll recover to our best and then we’ll see.”
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