Pep Guardiola confessed his Manchester City side are in a “fragile” state at present after their fifth loss in a row in all competitions, with a daunting trip to Premier League leaders Liverpool looming ominously on the horizon.<\/p>\n
Guardiola, never one to resort to excuses whenever adversity reared its sinister head, admitted his side are in a state of fragility after the defending champions were hammered 4-0 at home by Spurs in the biggest upset of the season so far.<\/p>\n
James Maddison\u2019s brace and goals from Pedro Porro and Brennan Johnson consigned the Citizens to their first defeat at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League since November 2022 against Brentford – ending their longest ever unbeaten run at home in all competitions (52 games).<\/p>\n
And it marked the fifth loss in a row for City in league and cup – the first time in Guardiola’s career that he has been on such a losing streak. His side are now five points behind league leaders Liverpool, who could extend that gap to eight points with a win at Southampton\u00a0tomorrow and in anticipation of Liverpool welcoming City to Anfield next weekend, the Spanish boss addressed his team’s abysmal run.<\/p>\n
Guardiola told BBC Sport: “We are fragile at the moment, we could not defend properly. We started well, struggled to score and then conceded. Then situation is more difficult.<\/p>\n
“I’ve been here as a player, maybe not as a manager, first three games at Barcelona\u00a0we lost. The only chance we have is stay there. Last eight years the results have been there, it would be a mistake to change the approach.<\/p>\n
“There are not fairy tales in life and sport, sometimes you have to live through these situations. You have to accept it. You can’t blame each other, stay together, continue to do what we have done.<\/p>\n
“Run away? Absolutely not, we have to stand up more than ever. What will define us is when we fail, we stand up and face it.<\/p>\n
“I don\u2019t know what will happen this season, but not for one second will I not believe in these players. There is no team in the world that can sustain success for eight, nine, ten years in a row. Of course everything is not fine, but what we try to do is analyse it, let\u2019s go to next game and see what happens.<\/p>\n
Guardiola \u2013 counting the cost of injuries to star midfielders Rodri and Kevin de Bruyne, the first of whom is out for the season and the latter a late substitute in the defeat against Spurs \u2013 said late returning players from international duty was also a problem, as he looked towards two huge games this coming week, firstly in the Champions League\u00a0and then against Arne Slot’s Liverpool.<\/p>\n
He said: “I have to see the situation. The players came back late [from internationals]. There were a few reasons we’re not able to be consistent. Now the balance is not in the right moment. But it happened. We have to do it, talk and on Tuesday against Feyenoord have the chance to try.<\/p>\n
“Of course Rodri is important but we knew that for many months. But Stones can only play 45 minutes. Jack has been injured many times. Kevin, two months and five months. We have to come back and freshen our minds. The season is so long. Many things can happen.<\/p>\n
“Before the game I didn’t know what will happen today. So I don’t know what will happen at Anfield. Everyone knows the situation is new for us. We struggled more without the ball. I don’t know how many chances we created. Our game was there.”<\/p>\n
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