When mentioning Manchester City's decline this season, coach Pep Guardiola repeatedly cited the number of losses. The Citizens have now lost eight of their last 11 games in all competitions - their worst run since 2003. About 2 months ago, this was almost an unbelievable prospect.
Just when Man City thought they had escaped the crisis, The Citizens dragged themselves into that spiral. Even Guardiola himself had to blame himself: "I'm a coach and I'm not good enough. I did not do well. That is the truth. That's what it's all about."
The Etihad team lost only 5 matches in the entire last season, 6 matches in the 2018-2019 campaign, 7 matches in the 2017-2018 and 2022-2023 campaigns, 8 matches in the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 campaigns. And this season, 8 losses since October 30, along with the draw against Feyenoord felt like a defeat.
Not long ago, Man City were unbeaten in 32 Premier League games and 26 Champions League games. "We are top of the league and the only unbeaten team in Europe," Guardiola said. Now, only Southampton have had as few points in the Premier League since the beginning of November.
When talking about the reason for the recent Manchester derby loss, Guardiola focused on two main themes: poor decision-making and personal errors. Matheus Nunes was the reason for the defeat to the "Red Devils" when he fouled Amad Diallo in the penalty area. In other games, it was Ederson, Kyle Walker and Josko Gvardiol's mistakes.
Man City may need at least five or six new signings to end this poor run of form. They need a defensive midfielder and another striker, to end their over-reliance on Rodri and Erling Haaland.
They also need at least one more midfielder, one younger and stronger than Kevin De Bruyne, Mateo Kovacic and Gundogan. They also need a right-back to replace Walker. If possible, they should also add another defender, whether a left-back or a fitter centre-back than Nathan Ake and John Stones.
For now, Guardiola's team need confidence and cohesion again. They need to be able to cope with failures, overcome difficult periods and take advantage of the existing foundation. And most importantly, as Guardiola said, they must stop playing like under-15s...
