Manchester City are in a massive crisis and Pep Guardiola has no answers for it, says Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher.
City fell to their seventh defeat in 10 games as they were beaten 2-0 at Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday night, leaving them in danger of not qualifying for the knockout stages.
That is as many defeats as the Premier League champions – for four years running – had suffered in their previous 105 matches under Guardiola, who is experiencing an unprecedented run of results so soon after signing a two-year contract extension.
Asked what Guardiola must be thinking after the defeat in Turin, the Sky Sports pundit said on CBS: “‘Why did I sign that contract?’ That’s what he’s thinking.
“You can’t believe what you’re seeing. This is a massive crisis. This was a crisis two or three weeks ago. The greatest manager and most successful manager possibly of all time, and he’s got no answers for it right now. He hasn’t.
“He’s tried different things, different systems, maybe players in different positions, and a manager as great as him is really, really struggling and finding it tough.
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“He’s never gone through this before, so he’s got no experience of this situation. He’s got nothing to fall back on and really look back at because he’s been so successful in the past. It’s a real eye-opener.
“There’s probably a lot of coaches around the world actually looking at Pep with a wry smile. Not enjoying what he’s going through, but just thinking, ‘finally, Pep Guardiola’s going through something that we’ve all been through at some stage in our career’.”
The worrying Man City stats
- Man City have lost seven and won just one of their last 10 matches in all competition
- That is as many defeats as they had suffered in previous 105 matches
- Conceded 21 goals in nine games since start of November – more than any club in Europe’s top five leagues
- Guardiola has failed to win three straight Champions League group/league stage games for first time in his career
- City now eight away games without a clean sheet – joint-longest in Guardiola’s career
Pep questioning himself after another defeat
Guardiola believes his Man City side are still the best amid their terrible run of form
Guardiola admitted he is questioning himself after Manchester City’s latest defeat.
“Of course I question myself but I’m stable in good moments and bad moments. I try to find a way to do it. I’m incredibly honest. If we play good [I say] we played good and today I thought we played good,” he said.
“Our game will save us. We can do it. We conceded few chances compared to the Nottingham Forest game that we won. We’re making the right tempo.
“We missed the last pass, did not arrive in the six-yard box [at the right time] or have the composure at the right moment.
“But I love my team. This is life, it happens. Sometimes you have a bad period but I’m going to insist until we’re there.”
City now face a crunch trip to Paris Saint-Germain, who are also at risk of failing to qualify, next month before a home game against Club Brugge.
Guardiola accepts finishing in the top 24 in the Champions League table is now the only aim.
He said: “It’s the target. We need one point or three points. We go to Paris to try to do it and the last game at home.”
Gundogan and Pep in disagreement over City problems
Veteran midfielder Ilkay Gundogan said after the Juventus game he felt City were suffering from a loss of confidence, but Guardiola dismissed his player’s comments.
“I am not agreeing with Ilkay,” he said. “Of course it is tough but, except one or two games in this period, we’ve played good.”
City now face a further test of their resolve as they host rivals Manchester United in a derby on Sunday.
Gundogan told TNT Sports: “It [confidence] is a big part of it. 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. They [the 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.
“Even more you have to do the simple things as good as possible and create and fluidity, then it’s work hard again. This is how you get confidence back – do the small and simple things, [but] in crucial moments at the moment we are always doing the wrong things.”
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