Manchester City are the most successful team in the Premier League in this decade, winning four league titles in four years. But the defending champions suddenly fell to the ground following four straight defeats in all competitions under Pep Guardiola. Today, we will discuss about Man City’s poor run and will analyze them.
Is Downfall Coming for City?
It is still too early to say whether the downfall of Man City has started. But everyone among the City supporters is concerned about their form under Pep Guardiola. Man City have never lost four consecutive matches under Pep Guardiola before, but this is exactly what happened with them. Following their exit from the Carabao Cup after losing to Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City suffered a shock defeat against AFC Bournemouth in the league. Additionally, they were humiliated by Man United’s new manager, Ruben Amirom, in the UEFA Champions League. Ruben’s former club, Sporting CP, smashed the English champions in the UCL and secured a thrilling 4-1 win over Man City. And the fourth defeat came last week when Brighton beat City with a 2-1 margin.
Guardiola never had this type of difficult time in his 17-year coaching career. But what went wrong for City? Here’s what we found:
Midfield’s Vulnerability
Midfield is the most crucial area for Man City. Ballon d’Or winner Rodri has been a long absentee for them, which affected them severely. With Rodri, Man City have a 73.6% winning rate. But Guardiola has not found a holding midfielder like Rodri as of now.
Additionally, midfield maestro Kevin de Bruyne is also out of the squad with his hamstring injury. As a result, Man City are struggling to create enough chances. The absence of those two midfielders has hit Man City really hard.
Overreliance on Haaland
There is no doubt Erling Haaland is the best striker in the world right now. He is a goal machine and can find the net anytime. He has scored 75 goals in the Premier League, becoming the fastest scorer to score 75 goals in this competition. However, he has already scored 12 goals in his 11 league appearances for Man City!
But do you know what is the result when Haaland could not score? That is where Man City are struggling very much. No other forwards are helping Haaland in scoring goals. Haaland is the top scorer for Man City with 12 goals in the league this season, but guess who is the second top scorer?
Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic are the second top scorer for City this season, yes you hear it right. With only three goals each, they are on Man City’s list behind Haaland.
Phil Foden, who won the Premier League Player of the Season in 2023-24, failed to show his quality this season and scored none. Pep Guardiola must find a solution in that area to get back on track again.
However, Pep Guardiola is confident that his side will be back when his players return from injury and international break.
