The Premier League champions suffered one of their worst defeats against Tottenham (0-4), but the Catalan coach is confident of turning things around: “The season is very long. Many things can happen”.
The Manchester team has five consecutive defeats (three in the Premier League, one in the Champions League and one in the EFL Cup). All of them, coincidentally or not, without Rodri Hernandez. The Ballon d’Or winner tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in September and will be out until the end of the season. Since his absence, City have lost their balance, are more vulnerable in defense and more predictable in their attacks. And the game against Tottenham (0-4) was the best example.
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Pep Guardiola is aware of the situation and gave a very realistic speech in the press conference after the match: “In eight years we have never experienced a situation like this. Now we have to live it and break it by winning the next games, especially the next one (against Feyenoord in the Champions League). Now we see things one way, maybe in a few weeks we will see them another way. We have to move forward…”.
The season is long and many things can happen
Apart from the five consecutive defeats, there is also a big gap in points with Premier League leaders Liverpool. The team now managed by Arne Slot is eight points ahead of them and next weekend they will face each other at Anfield. But for Guardiola there is still a lot to be done: “We have to come back and refresh ourselves. The season is long. Many things can happen. Before the game we didn’t know what would happen today, so I don’t know what will happen at Anfield”.
“It would be a mistake to change your approach”: said the coach
Returning to his team’s poor form, Guardiola took the opportunity to recall his beginnings in charge of Barcelona: “I’ve been in this situation as a player, perhaps not as a coach. We lost our first three games at Barcelona. It would be a mistake to change your approach. In life and in sport there are no fairy tales, sometimes you have to live through these situations. You have to accept it.”
Catalan coach trusts his team
The situation is not ideal for Manchester City, but the Catalan coach is clear that he trusts his team: “I don’t know what will happen this season, but I will not for a second stop believing in these players. There is no team in the world that can maintain success for eight, nine or ten years in a row. Of course not everything is fine, but what we are trying to do is analyze it, let’s go to the next game and see what happens,” stressed Guardiola, who has never experienced a situation like this.