The interesting thing about the new Champions League format is that Manchester City have only won two of their six games so far and still have a chance of making it out of the group stage. They could even fail to win their remaining two games and still not be eliminated.
A great team cannot become mediocre after just one game. But that is exactly what happened to Man City. They may have played well in the early stages of the season but overall, The Citizens looked tired and unmotivated.
There are a number of obvious reasons for Man City's alarming decline, including injuries, most notably of course Rodri.
On top of that, City’s recent transfer dealings have been a direct blow to them, with questions raised when they sold Cole Palmer to Chelsea in the summer of 2023, despite City still winning the Premier League that season.
Most recently, the Etihad Stadium team sold Julian Alvarez to Atletico Madrid in the summer transfer window of 2024. Right in the match where Pep Guardiola's team failed to score a goal in Turin, Alvarez scored a masterpiece against Slovan Bratislava. This was the Argentine striker's 12th goal of the season for Diego Simeone's team.
For Man City last season, Alvarez scored 19 goals in all competitions and provided 13 assists. In the season before that at the Etihad, the striker also had 17 goals and 5 assists. At just 24 years old, Alvarez's future is clearly very bright.
Of course, the £80m Alvarez fee helped City comply with Premier League financial regulations, and the player himself has said he wanted to leave for a new challenge. But it’s hard to believe Guardiola couldn’t convince such a promising player to stay.
And if Alvarez's departure was a must, why didn't Man City have a worthy replacement? And after the 0-2 defeat to Juventus, Guardiola still had his usual statements. The Spaniard said the team played really well and he was very proud of his players.
Of course, as a coach, Guardiola has to say these things. But while a team can go from great to mediocre overnight, the journey back is always much harder.
The Man City board have a lot to deal with right now, but planning for life without Guardiola must be their top priority.
