Manchester City
“Horror show”: Pep Guardiola is experiencing the worst crisis of his career
Pep Guardiola recently lost five games in a row with Manchester City – something that has never happened before. The reasons for this are numerous, but one stands out.
Perhaps Manchester City officials thought that a bombastic show honoring Ballon d’Or winner Rodri (full name: Rodrigo Hernández Cascante) would put an end to the misery. Before the home game against Tottenham Hotspur last Saturday, the big stage was set for the Spanish international at the Etihad Stadium. His name shone in oversized, sparking letters made of fire on the lawn covered with a huge tarpaulin, while the honoree held up the World Footballer’s Cup.
But the glittering show surrounding superstar Rodri, who led the Spanish national team to the European Championship title in the summer, had no positive (or magical) effect on the acute form crisis. On the contrary. Pep Guardiola’s team lost 4-0 to Spurs and the fans in the stadium didn’t know whether what was happening on the pitch was real or something out of a bad nightmare. “The Spurs dismantled Man City into all its individual parts,” summed up the Telegraph. The first home defeat since November 2022 and after 52 games was also the highest in 18 years. The Manchester Evening News called it a “horror show”.
A new experience for Pep Guardiola
It was the fifth defeat in a row and a new low point in terms of sport. Guardiola looked visibly distressed on the sidelines. The 53-year-old has never experienced such a crisis in his career (he once lost three games in a row with Bayern, but it had no impact) – it is a completely new experience for the Catalan.
The consequences could be serious. The Skyblues are in danger of losing the championship title, which they have won four times in a row, in the first half of the season. They are in second place in the table, but are already eight points behind Liverpool FC. “It happened. We have to do everything we can to turn things around, especially in the next game,” said Guardiola, commenting on the defeat. In the worst crisis of all times, there will be a direct duel with the rivals at Anfield Stadium next weekend.
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So the Rodri tribute before the game seemed like evil irony after the game. The Spanish professional is the most important player in Guardiola’s team. But since he tore a cruciate ligament in his right knee in September and will be out for a long time, the team has been missing the heart of the defensive midfield. His outstanding importance for the team is now also painfully apparent for the supporters. With Rodri, City has almost never lost since February 2023, without him the rate shot up to 35.7 percent. Guardiola has failed to install an adequate replacement on the pitch. Gündogan should try out Rodri’s role against Tottenham, but he is a completely different type of player and also out of form.
The negative Rodri effect is magnified many times over
The negative Rodri effect is reinforced by a variety of other factors that are responsible for the Cityzens’ lack of form. Former top performers such as Kyle Walker, Ilkay Gündogan and Kevin De Bruyne have passed their peak or are taking longer to get back into shape after injuries. There is also a goal crisis. As long as superstar Erling Haaland met regularly, there was no problem. The Norwegian scored ten goals in the first five league games alone, but things have stalled since then. Most recently, he only scored twice in the last seven games.
The problem is that other professionals don’t step into the breach for him. The brilliant Phil Foden, who scored 19 goals in the Premier League alone last season (27 competitive goals in total), has not scored a single goal in the league so far. So far, promising new signings like the Brazilian right winger Savinho have had no luck or broken their legs like the talented Oscar Bobb. In general, the misery of injuries: Especially at the start of the season, numerous top performers were out for a longer period of time. Professionals like Jack Grealish or De Bruyne are currently only a shadow of their former selves.
The past has shown several times that you shouldn’t write off Manchester City too early. Guardiola is counting on that. On Tuesday there is a chance for a turnaround in the Champions League against Feyenoord Rotterdam.
