Pep Guardiola has taken Manchester City to places they have never been before. Now they have taken him to somewhere he has never been before. To a fifth consecutive defeat, to their worst run for 18 years, to the worst by any defending champion in England since Chelsea in 1956. Is Guardiola a good manager to have in a crisis? There is no evidence, because he has never been in one.
He brought a sense of permanent domination. Until now. “The exceptionality we lived in eight years is not eternal,” he said. He has made it seem that way at times, demoralising a division with a relentlessness that stemmed from perfectionism. Now, and despite their record of going on lengthy winning sequences in the past, it feels as though it won’t take 115 charges to knock City off their perch. There have been annual autumnal stumbles in the past, but not a collapse like the last five games.
There had been hints of decline last season, camouflaged by another league title and a five-month unbeaten run. They were more pronounced this season, with a lack of clean sheets, with a reliance on late goals, but obscured by results that suggested they were still serial winners. Now there is no obscuring them, no camouflaging the problems. “It is little things wrong from the beginning of the season that are getting worse, a little bit worse in situations,” said Guardiola. Some issues are caused by the misfortune of injuries, but some City’s fault. Even in the week when Guardiola signed his new contract, their future-proofing has proved deficient.
After 52 games unbeaten at the Etihad, penalty shootouts excepted, came their heaviest ever loss at the Etihad, a 4-0 rout. Tottenham have a history of counter-attacking brilliantly against Guardiola’s City. They did so again on Saturday. A common denominator among the setbacks in the Catalan’s eight-and-a-half season are the winners breaking at devastating pace and scoring in quick succession. Now Sporting Lisbon have three goals in 11 minutes, Brighton two in five, James Maddison two in seven.
“In this moment we are fragile defensively,” said Guardiola. Only seven teams have conceded more Premier League goals. City look susceptible in many ways. Josko Gvardiol has proved an unexpectedly brilliant attacking left-back but has struggled defensively of late. On the right, there has to be a concern Kyle Walker’s race is run: his age-defying pace looks gone, the symbolic moment coming when Fulham’s Adama Traore left him stuck in quicksand, a repeat when Timo Werner scooted past him.
Yet the biggest issue defensively is no secret. Rodri had his name up in lights on Saturday; literally. City presented him with the Ballon d’Or in manner that seemed modelled on Elvis in Vegas. Take out the world’s best defensive midfielder and the defence has been exposed; that centre-back partnership has had to change so often hardly helps.
But time and again, opposing attacking midfielders have too much freedom, as Maddison did to score twice, as Brighton’s Matt O’Riley did for his winner; the zone in front of the back four is not protected. Two years on, the failure of Kalvin Phillips’ signing has belatedly harmed City. This is when they required an alternative defensive midfielder; their version of Nicky Butt to stand in for their answer to Roy Keane.
They have none; a squad that has evolved in strange ways has a lone specialist defensive midfielder and a solitary specialist striker. “I think the squad when all the squad is there is exceptional,” said Guardiola but City look negligent in their recruitment. There is a lack of balance; enough players in some positions, but not others.
Mateo Kovacic seemed Plan B, preferred when Rodri was absent. But the Croatian is not as mobile and City were vulnerable on the counter-attack when he played. With the Croatian injured, there seems to be no Plan C. On Saturday, Guardiola played 4-4-1-1, with two banks of four and a huge space between them, with no defensive midfielder. His two men in the middle were Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan; two of the greatest midfielders in City’s history, but two thirty-somethings.
And Gundogan is looking his 34 years, losing Maddison for the opener, lacking the huge influence he used to exert. He was a talisman in his first spell at City. Now he is a microcosm for another reason. In a physical league, this is an ageing team, without the speed and running power many an opponent exhibits. “We cannot make up and downs because they are stronger than us,” Guardiola rued after the shellacking by Spurs. City have allowed this team to grow old. Some 52 per cent of the minutes played for City in the Premier League this season have gone to footballers 29 or more, the highest in the division.
Perhaps it is picking on Gundogan, but he is part of another problem. City were powered by Erling Haaland’s goals earlier in the season but they are now too reliant on them. They have four non-scoring wingers. Neither Silva nor Savinho has scored in his last 16 outings. Jack Grealish has no club goal this season. Jeremy Doku has one in the Premier League. Among midfielders, neither Phil Foden nor Gundogan has a top-flight goal this campaign. The midfield, often the greatest strength of a Guardiola side, is now contributing neither defensive protection nor goals. They still have the technique but not the athleticism when they lose the ball.
“This is not a team created to do box to box 40 times in a game – we are not good at that,” said Guardiola. So a loss of cohesion and control has come at a cost. “I trust these players more than ever,” said their manager. But those players are failing more than ever.
City are the only Premier League team without a point in November. They have lost five in a row in all competitions – even San Marino have won more recently than Guardiola’s City. “Now everything is a little bit against,” said Guardiola. He is accustomed to everything being for. But football, and the normality of his football, has been turned on its head.