What's going on at Manchester City?
The Sky Blues, so dominant in recent years, have only one win in their last 11 games and have lost eight of those matches. How has this happened?
Even Pep Guardiola does not seem to have the answers. Manchester City looked to be back on track in the derby against Manchester United on Sunday, but a late collapse saw the Sky Blues beaten again and it is now just one win in 11 games for the Premier League champions and 2022/23 treble winners now. What is going on?
City took the lead through Joško Gvardiol and with time ticking away at the Etihad, Guardiola’s side were still ahead. But United, still finding their feet under new head coach Rubén Amorim, took all three points following a late turnaround against their local rivals. And City could have only themselves to blame.
After Bruno Fernandes had missed an opportunity one-on-one with Ederson, a costly double mistake from Matheus Nunes allowed United back into the game. First, the Portuguese midfielder let in Amad Diallo with an underhit backpass and scrambling back to atone for his error, he brought down the United forward. Fernandes scored from the spot and two minutes later, Diallo latched onto a long ball from Lisandro Martínez and rounded Ederson before finishing from a tight angle. Not again? Yes, again.
“I’m not good enough,” Guardiola said after the match. “I am the boss, the manager, I have to find solutions and so far I haven’t. That’s the reality. We want to play better, create chances. But at the moment it’s not possible.”
So has Guardiola, a man who has led City to six Premier League titles in seven years and a treble triumph in an array of silverware and revolutionised football coaching along the way with his tactical brilliance, really lost his magic?
The reasons for City’s recent stuggles are, of course, much more complex than that. So what has happened?
Injuries to key players
Manchester City have been without Rodri since late September after the midfielder sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury against Arsenal which is set to keep the Ballon d’Or winner out for the rest of the season. Or for most of it, anyway.
Meanwhile, Kevin De Bruyne has only recenty returned from a troublesome injury and the Belgian is still getting up to speed. Against United, he was withdrawn midway through the second half.
John Stones, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Aké have also been sidelined, leaving Guardiola short of options in defence as well as midfield, while Phil Foden has had time out through illness and injury. Take three or more key players of that quality out of a team and any side would find it difficult to compete at the same level.
Squad planning
Have City grown complacent after all their recent success? Perhaps. The loss of Rodri and others to injury has exposed the strength and depth of the squad.
The re-signing of midfielder İlkay Gündoğan in the summer was perhaps ill-advised and that is hardly a surprise for anyone who witnessed the German’s leggy displays for Barcelona in the second half of last season. Gündoğan is a City legend from his first spell at the club, but bringing him back does not look like the wisest decision. Not as a starter, anyway.
In the meantime, Julián Álvarez was sold to Atlético Madrid and without the Argentine, City have been somewhat short on options in attack. Erling Haaland needs service to thrive and with Foden out of late and summer signing Savinho still taking time to adapt, the World Cup winner’s work-rate, hustle and goals would have been useful in this recent slump.
Players off form
Erling Haaland has scored just one goal in City’s last five matches and although that streak says more about the chances being created by his team-mates, the Norwegian has also been struggling.
Foden has been below his best this term as well, albeit affected by injuries and illness. The England attacker is scoring and assisting at a lower rate, coming out on top in fewer duels and not winning the ball back as often. Amid all the injuries, City could use his individual brilliance – but it’s not quite happening.
And then there’s Kyle Walker. One of the standout players for Guardiola’s City side over the years, the England defender has looked off the pace and been prone to errors. His recent woes have been synonymous with the team’s struggles and the Sky Blues have won just two matches out of nine when he has started in 2024-25.
Confidence, mental issues and “stupid decisions”
After City’s 2-0 loss to Juventus in the Champions League last week, Gündoğan spoke of a lack of confidence and mental issues eating away at the Premier League champions.
“[Confidence] is a big part of it,” he told TNT Sports. “That’s a mental issue as well. You can see that sometimes we miss the ball or lose a duel and you see that we drop immediately and lose the rhythm. [Opponents] don’t even need to do much, but it has such a big effect on us right now. They are able to break our rhythm with the smallest thing.”
Guardiola later contradicted the German, but there is little doubt that City are fragile mentally at the moment, as any team would be amid such a difficult run of results. And after the defeat to United, the Catalan said: “Football, like all of life, is emotion and how you feel. Now we are more anxious with the ball and without the ball.”
Meanwhile, Bernardo Silva spoke of “stupid decisions” after the loss against Manchester United. “If you make these kinds of stupid decisions with three or four minutes to go, you deserve to pay for that,” the Portuguese said. And he added: “We have to look at ourselves. It’s not about luck. It’s the decisions you make. Today, in the last minutes we played like under-15s and we paid the price.” That comes from anxiety.
What next?
Pep Guardiola said during his time at Barcelona was that one of his reasons for leaving was because it would be too painful to replace some of the senior players coming to the end of their careers. But that is the situation he now faces at City.
Having signed a new contract amid a difficult run of results, Guardiola is determined to turn things around. The Catalan has also never stayed this long at a club before, which presents a new challenge. But he has vowed not to leave, and is clearly still searching for solutions.
City travel to Aston Villa next on Saturday, before a home game against Everton on Boxing Day and a trip to Leicester City on December 29th. Those teams will be well aware that a reaction is likely not too far away, but will also be relishing the chance of facing a City side low on confidence and short on personnel.
And in January, reinforcements are likely. City posted profits and record revenue in an annual report a few days ago, so the money is there to bring in new players and with the club still in the title race despite recent results, expect a couple of big arrivals in the winter window. Don’t write them off just yet.
Great read with thoughtful points you raise. I just got on to Substack myself and wrote something similar albeit this afternoon. And then I came across your points. 2024/25 is going to be tough even to get into top 4 for City, but it’s going to be a fascinating watch in how they rebuild and recreate.
Great long read, Ben! In all honesty I hope City take Zubimendi off the market. I don't want #LFC investing so much into a position where we already have the ultimate dynamo (Gravenberch)...