Manchester City are now lagging five points behind rivals and leaders Liverpool in the Premier League title race after their 2-1 loss to Brighton.
Pundit and former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher believes Manchester City are encountering challenges unlike any they have encountered under Pep Guardiola over the year.
City pipped both Liverpool and Arsenal to the prize last season but 11 games into the 2024/25 campaign, they now sit second in the standings and five points behind leaders Liverpool.
City suffered a fourth consecutive defeat across all competitions against Brighton on Saturday afternoon, the first time this has happened in the manager’s career. Erling Haaland opened the scoring but second half goals from Joao Pedro and Matt O’Riley overturned the cart for City.
Understandably City’s poor form has been prompted by a growing number of injuries, including the one that impacted Ballon d’Or winner Rodri. Jack Grealish, Ruben Dias, Oscar Bobb and John Stones also remain on the sidelines and missed Saturday’s trip to Brighton.
Carragher believes City’s problems this season have offered the likes of Liverpool more than just a glimmer of hope in the title race. “Manchester City are facing challenges unlike any they have encountered in the Pep Guardiola era,” he wrote in his column for The Telegraph.
“For the first time since he built his all-conquering team, his title rivals are seeing more than one glimmer of hope. City have faced injury problems and glitches in form before. There should be caution before making bold declarations about the champions falling backwards given their history of slow starts before pushing down the pedal in the second half of the season.
“But there are significant differences this time because a series of issues are presenting themselves at once.”
One of the big issues Carragher believes City face this season is the long-term absence of Rodri. The pundit noted that Guardiola’s side were unbeaten in the 34 games the midfielder played in last season, and lost three of the four games he missed.
Liverpool attempted to sign Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi over the summer, and Carragher believes City could attempt to succeed where the Merseyside club failed when the transfer window reopens in January. However, whether they get a deal over the line is another question.
“Whether he or anyone else would join City in January is linked to their second problem,” he wrote. “Any player approached by City between now and the end of the season will want to wait for the outcome of the case into the 115 charges.
“Nobody knows if there will be significant sporting sanctions against the club. Until that has been resolved, a wise agent will tell his client to let the process take its course before putting pen to paper, especially if they have alternative options.”