Manchester City’s season is rapidly unraveling, with the champions in a bad form ahead of their crunch clash against Liverpool on Sunday. The team’s recent performances have been nothing short of disastrous, with five defeats in their last six games, including a humiliating 4-1 loss to Sporting CP in the Champions League. This dismal run has seen City concede a staggering 17 goals, exposing the team’s defensive frailties and raising serious concerns about their ability to compete at the highest level.
The statistics make for grim reading, with City’s last victory coming in a narrow 1-0 win over Southampton on October 26. Since then, the team has been on a downward spiral, with Guardiola’s tactics and team selection coming under increasing scrutiny. The pressure is mounting on the City manager to turn things around, and Sunday’s clash against Liverpool at Anfield is shaping up to be a season-defining encounter. With City’s title hopes hanging by a thread, Guardiola will need to inspire a dramatic turnaround in fortunes if his team is to have any chance of getting back on track.
A Team in Shambles
The statistics make for grim reading. City have conceded more than two goals per game during this winless run, a trend that has not been seen since 1963, when they were relegated. Their defensive frailties have been exposed, with Josko Gvardiol gifting opponents four goals through errors in the last two games, while Kyle Walker appears to be approaching the end of his career at the highest level.
The absence of Rodri and Ruben Dias has been keenly felt, with Ilkay Gundogan struggling to anchor the midfield on his own. Bernardo Silva has been hugely disappointing, lacking his usual dynamism, while Phil Foden is a shadow of the player he was last season. The usually reliable Kevin De Bruyne has also been struggling with injuries, and his fitness troubles have even prevented him from making a decision about his future as he has stalled on talks of extending his contract, which expires in June.
Haaland’s Goal-Scoring Burden
Erling Haaland has been forced to shoulder the burden of City’s attacking responsibilities, but even the Norwegian goal-machine has not been immune to the team’s malaise. Haaland scored 27 of City’s 96 league goals last season, but has been responsible for 12 of their 22 strikes this term, a staggering 54%. The pressure on Haaland to deliver is mounting, and the 23-year-old’s goal-scoring form has begun to suffer as a result.
Pep said: “I would say the reason for our lack of goals is not Erling Haaland. Without Erling, we would be more in trouble! We are lucky to have Erling. Every game, he has three or four chances. One day he scores two or three. We have four or five wingers, but we only had one. Phil was excellent in that position but he’s struggled early with niggles and little things. Kevin has been injured. That is the reality and we have to adapt.”
Guardiola’s tactics have also come under scrutiny, with the team’s high defensive line leaving them vulnerable to counter-attacks. The coach has admitted that his team are “fragile” and “not emotionally stable”, while former City defender Gael Clichy has said that the team are missing a “vocal leader” at the back.
As City prepare to face Liverpool, who have won 17 of their 19 games under new manager Arne Slot, the omens are not good. The Reds have an eight-point lead at the top of the table, and a victory on Sunday would extend that gap to 11 points. Guardiola and Gundogan have both admitted that defeat would effectively end City’s title hopes, but a victory, as unlikely as it seems, would trim the deficit to five points and provide a much-needed boost to their flagging season.
A Tough Task Ahead
As Gundogan said, “Anfield is always tough, no matter the situation. We’ve struggled in recent years going there. We know Liverpool are a great team full of confidence right now. It’s going to be as tough as it is possible to be. But that sums up the situation right now. It seems we have to go through this season the toughest way possible. Obviously we’ve done this ourselves a little bit, but hopefully we can get out of that as quickly as possible, especially in such a big game.”
On current form, it will take a miracle for City to topple Liverpool on Sunday.
Image Credit: Getty Images Sport