By Seven months ago, Manchester City’s dominance showed no signs of waning. Pep Guardiola’s men were once again lifting the Premier League trophy, basking in the glory of a sixth league title in seven years.
City had secured its status as one of the league’s best-ever teams and kicked off this season in search of a fifth consecutive title. But the club is now mired in its worst-ever run of form for 18 years, a slump that continued on Saturday with a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa.
It has recorded just one win in its last 11 games and has suffered six defeats in the Premier League this season already. Now, it is languishing in seventh place, 12 points behind Liverpool – which has a game in hand – at the top of the table. It is in danger too of missing out on the Champions League knockout stages after securing just two wins from six games.
“We don’t have a defense for the results. They are not good,” Guardiola said afterwards, per the Associated Press. “It’s about what I can do with my people to get the results back and continue. If there is a moment that I cannot overthink, it is right now. Try to be simple, stick to my principles and give certainty to the team.”
At first, his side’s defeats seemed like a one-off; even City must lose occasionally. But, gradually, the defeats piled up and the crisis deepened, leaving Guardiola scrambling for explanations as his team’s season has unraveled.
Most obviously, City’s defense has been decimated by injuries to Manuel Akanji, John Stones and Nathan Ake while key midfielder Rodri, who won the Ballon d’Or, is out for most the season with a knee injury. A fresh blow came on Saturday with news that defender Rúben Dias would be out for three to four weeks too.
“We don’t have the players,” Guardiola told TNT Sports on Saturday when asked about City’s title chances. “It’s more difficult. I don’t have the feeling now. Maybe it’s going to happen, who knows? But I have the feeling that, now, we have to think in the short term. We cannot put a lot of big, big targets.”
The Spanish manager has never had to cope with a crisis like this. Until this month, he had never lost four consecutive league matches with any of his teams, per Opta, while City had not suffered such a streak since 2006.
Even with an injury crisis, City can still field a team packed with expensive, talented players, but their attack seems disjointed and devoid of ideas, scoring just 10 goals in their last nine league games. Star striker Erling Haaland touched the ball once, in the 89th minute, inside the opposition penalty area against Villa.
After so many years of winning trophies, such a run of form has caused a collapse in confidence among the players. Confidence levels are, Haaland told TNT Sports, “of course, not the best.”
“We know how important confidence is and you can see that it affects every human being,” he said. “That is how it is, we have to continue and stay positive even though it is difficult, and we have to keep working hard.”
The players who formed the backbone of City’s all-conquering team of the last few year aren’t getting any younger. Kyle Walker, whose defensive brilliance is defined by his speed, is 34 and has looked fallible of late with several lapses of concentration at key points; Kevin de Bruyne is 33 and his future at the club is uncertain once his contract expires this year; İlkay Gündoğan is 34 and was overpowered in midfield against Villa.
Still, Haaland added that the team “still believe” in Guardiola, who has led them to so many trophies. City next play on December 26 against Everton, the start of a less difficult stretch of games that perhaps offers a chance to regain some momentum.
