Facing Juventus in the Champions League group stage, Man City surprisingly lost 0-2. The goalscorers were Dusan Vlahovic and Weston McKennie. Notably, this was the 7th loss in 10 matches in all competitions for Pep Guardiola's team. With 22nd place and only 1 point above the danger zone, the possibility of Man City being eliminated early in the Champions League is still present.
After the game, midfielder Ilkay Gundogan explained how City had fallen short, particularly in the tackles. He told TNT Sports: "It was disappointing. We had a few chances, but every time we were attacked we were vulnerable. I felt we were playing superficial duels and making things difficult for ourselves.
We lost the ball in transition and had to counter-attack, and ended up chasing 50, 60 metres. Man City are built to control the ball, to keep the ball aggressively, not to lose the ball and chase opponents.”
The German midfielder was also unhappy with the attitude of the Man City players. He continued: “We lost the ball or lost the challenge, then immediately lost the rhythm. Juventus didn’t even have to try much, but they still made it difficult for us. We will have to do a lot, sometimes simply to regain confidence.”
For his part, coach Pep Guardiola disagreed with his players. He refuted Gundogan's opinion: "No, we played well today, as we did before. The team didn't lose much of the ball and were in the right positions. However, facing Italian teams that defend deep is not easy.
"Maybe Man City are not in their best form, but everything is fine. We have two more games in the Champions League and need a win. The games against Feyenoord and Inter will be important targets."
