With yesterday’s defeat at Brighton, Metropolis suffered their fourth consecutive defeat, one thing unprecedented in Pep Guardiola’s profession as a coach till now. With Bayern, in 2014-15, he additionally misplaced 4 in a row, however one was within the Cup within the penalty shootout: 1-1 Dortmund (and penalties); 2-0 Leverkusen; 3-0 Barca in Champions League; and 0-1 Augsburg. The Brighton defeat provides to the earlier three, which had been: within the Carabao Cup (2-1 Tottenham); within the Premier League (2-1 Bournemouth); and within the Champions League (4-1 Sporting CP).
The league defeat, after letting a 1-0 lead slip, got here after the 4-1 defeat in Lisbon. Metropolis had not conceded 4 targets in Europe since October 2016 (4-0 in opposition to Barca) and interrupted a run of 25 video games with out defeat within the Champions League (excluding penalty shootout defeats) that Pep had loved since Could 2022.
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Pep has by no means been so down… however let us take a look at a number of the causes which have led to this, earlier than the worldwide break after which going through Tottenham, their subsequent opponents… and which might result in a fifth consecutive defeat.
Rodri’s absence is a separate chapter, as he’s their most vital participant. Pep tries to discover a substitute with partial options: Kovacic, Gndogan, Matheus Nunes… Going to the winter market is an answer.
Dependence on Haaland. Of the 22 targets the group has scored within the Premier League, 12 are from the Norwegian, who additionally scored yesterday. The accidents to Doku, De Bruyne and Grealish improve this dependence, plus the departure of Julian Alvarez.
Pep’s final yr. The Catalan arrived on the Etihad in the summertime of 2016 and this may very well be his final marketing campaign, as his contract expires in 2025. This does create some instability within the group’s atmosphere. As well as, Txiki Begiristain, the group’s director of soccer, may even depart his submit, and will probably be changed by Portuguese Hugo Viana.
Backbone on the wire. Not solely is Guardiola’s future up within the air, however so is way of the backbone that lifted the treble of Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup in 2023. From again to entrance, between 2025 and 2026 Ederson, Walker, Stones, Gundogan, De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva are out of contract. Many contracts to be resolved that, certainly, do not need many gamers with their heads the place they need to be.
For years, Metropolis had been among the many finest squads on the earth… due to the standard of their gamers and since they’d a rotation that virtually allowed Pep to have two beginning elevens. Nonetheless, Pep has been shedding profiles in latest instances which have left a number of positions orphaned. One is the pivot, with the departure of Fernandinho, which was by no means coated by Kalvin Phillips (now at Ipswich); and the second, this summer season, with the departure of Julian Alvarez to Atletico in assault.
Pep all the time invents and reinvents himself (inside full-backs, central as a midfielder…), however he has been in England for therefore a few years that his rivals appear to have bought the measure of him in defence and assault.
Sure, regardless of this disaster, regardless of every thing, Metropolis is (solely) 5 factors under Liverpool (they’re recoverable) and has the Champions League nonetheless very open, in addition to the FA Cup (the Carabao is already out). So… the ‘anti-Pep’ shouldn’t be too assured, as Metropolis can nonetheless win crucial titles.
