New Delhi: After suffering a 4-1 loss to Sporting Lisbon in the UEFA Champions League, Manchester have now lost back-to-back three games across competitions. It is the second time that Pep Guardiola’s side have lost three consecutive games in a season across the competition. In his post-match reaction, skipper Bernardo Silva felt the team was in a “dark place”.
Guardiola refuted the statement but acknowledged that the season was always going to be tough for the side. However, the 53-year-old manager ensured that he was up for the challenge to lift his players and would make a comeback. Guardiola felt that City’s performance wasn’t bad in the Carabao Cup. Guardiola believes that the team played well in most of their final-16 crash-out against Tottenham.
However, Guardiola admitted that their Premier League loss to Bournemouth was simply because they were not the best side on the day, while against Sporting, they were never able to restrain the counter-attacks. Though Guardiola may not have been satisfied with the overall season, there’s no escaping that City have pulled narrow wins over Fulham, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Southampton. For Guardiola, the team has displayed a fighting spirit this season, but it is quite clear that the team may have some crisis.
🔵👀 Pep Guardiola: “I love this challenge, I want to face it and lift the players”.
“I am not giving up, be ready.., maybe people are waiting for that, but I am not giving up!”. pic.twitter.com/sQuacdb4LH
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 6, 2024
Mounting injury list for Manchester City
One of the primary factors in their performance is the number of injuries that the top English club has been dealing with this season. The team even gave FA Youth Cup-winning skipper Jahmai Simpson-Pusey a place in the starting XI only a week after his debut in the senior team.
The central defence has been under a lot of pressure. Both John Stones and Ruben Dias did not go to Lisbon, and Nathan Ake stayed on as a substitute for the entire duration. With regular captain Kyle Walker missing in action, Rico Lewis was played as right-back, and Kevin de Bryune was just played six minutes. Even Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku have been missing in action for a while.
The biggest name on the sidelines is Ballon d’Or winner Rodri. Often regarded as the best midfielder in Europe today, the 28-year-old has been out of action for the entire season, and the side’s performance has dipped considerably. Rodri’s absence means that Guardiola’s midfield involves players instructed to make more pages and control the pace of the game.
Fans and experts alike have criticised the club’s recruitment process, or rather, its lack of recruitment, over the past two years. The counterpoint is that nobody expected the injury numbers to mount at this level. On top of it, big names like Ilakay Gundogan haven’t been fired this season, while Phil Foden has been on the rise game after game.
City are currently second in the Premier League, with seven wins, two draws and losing once. Guardiola feels that the events surrounding this season have been similar to his debut season with the team where City were in struggling to find consistency. A streak of 17 games with just one loss ensured City finished third.
Despite every aspect that City are facing Guardiola maintains that they are better off than their city rivals Manchester United. When asked about Ruben Amorim’s hiring at United, Guardiola mentioned that he was quick to reply that the current performance indicates that they will be playing each other in Premier League and FA Cup but not in the Champions League anytime soon.
Pep Guardiola maintains that he will fight back after Manchester City endure three consecutive losses across competitions. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
