With this new road trip suffered against Brighton this Saturday (2-1), we could almost wonder what is most surprising: that Manchester City have suffered a fourth loss in a row, which has not happened since. … 18 years old, a time when Joey Barton was still the youngster trained at the club, or when Pep Guardiola has just experienced it for the very first time in his career? In both cases, Rodri was not there, and this dark evening at least reminded us how important the 2024 Ballon d’Or was in each of his teams (Manchester City had not lost in 52 matches with ‘Spanish on the pitch)… So it goes to show that those who are absent are not always wrong.
We won’t go so far as to say that City lost everything in the space of two weeks, but what we are pretty sure of is that they have indeed seen their hopes of a quadruple disappear. for this season. After an elimination in the Carabao Cup against Tottenham (2-1) ten days ago, the Skyblues have just suffered two defeats in a row in the Premier League, first against a modest Bournemouth team (2-1), then today against Brighton, on the same price, and yet having led the score until the 78th minute. Between the two: a monumental slap inflicted by Sporting in the Champions League on Tuesday (4-1). For a team that had gotten into the habit of annihilating its opponents with a form of sadistic pleasure for 8 years, obviously, this is an anomaly.
The shocks against Tottenham and Liverpool already crucial
But then how can we explain this period of turbulence, unusual for City in recent seasons? The injured, obviously, with Rodri in the lead, but also De Bruyne, used a little more than 20 minutes this week after missing almost two months of competition, then Ruben Dias and John Stones, base of the Skyblues defense in recent times months, and still absent for several weeks. Also, the disparate states of form of the forces present, with a Jérémy Doku and a Phil Foden clearly less impactful, an interesting Savinho, but still not a scorer, or even a Kyle Walker, adrift, and who somehow personifies the shipwreck of his team today. Gundogan, less influential than before, also struggled to find the words: “When things happen like this, we always talk about it, we always learn more, we try to find reasons. I just think that we, the players, must take our responsibilities.he explained at a press conference.
As for Erling Haaland, he continues to pile up the pieces, 12 in 11 Premier League matches precisely, but has never been that player capable of deciding the fate of a meeting in a flash, which has been confirmed once again Today. As for Pep Guardiola, whose future still remains up in the air (his contract expires next summer), we have rarely seen him so disconcerted. “Well…welcome!” There is a first for everything. There is always a first time in life. This is my challenge, I love challenges. I will not back down, more than ever I want to do it.”he whispered at a press conference this evening, in reference to the unprecedented nature of his series of 4 career defeats. With the reception of Tottenham after the break, then of Liverpool, the danger looms more than ever.
