Manchester City, total darkness: another flop for Guardiola and his men
Unending crisis for Manchester City
Last Dec. 4’s victory against Nottingham Forest, which came after a draw and six defeats between the league, League Cup and Champions League, seemed to have put an end to Manchester City’s crisis of results: since then, however, a draw (2-2 against Crystal Palace) and defeats against Juventus and Manchester United have come to rekindle the warning light, the noise of which is even louder after the third defeat in a row, which came on Saturday at the field of Aston Villa.
In Brimingham, the Pep Guardiola-coached lineup started badly, going under on 16' as a result of Jhon Duran’s goal, then conceding 2-0 on 65' with Morgan Rogers’ goal. Only Phil Foden’s goal-scoring in full recovery made the score a little less bitter, but the games were now largely done.
Since Oct. 30, therefore, Manchester City's balance sheet has been merciless: only one success, two draws and as many as nine defeats, some of them very heavy, such as the 4-1 inflicted by Sporting in the Champions League, the 0-4 in the Premier League against Tottenham and the clear-cut 2-0 victories over Liverpool and Juventus in the league and in Europe's top competition, respectively.
After seventeen days in the league, therefore, Manchester City is not only è far from the top of the standings (Liverpool, playing two games less as of Dec. 21, has collected an impressive nine more points), but also risks finding itself out of the European zone. And in the Champions League it is no better: with two rounds left in the group stage, City è 22nd, just one point ahead of the elimination zone.
