Guardiola’s Manchester City have won just one of their last four games, having gone four in a row without a win, one of the worst crises for the English side since the Catalan coach took over the bench.
The latest was a defeat to Aston Villa in which the ‘Cityzens’ were outclassed by Unai Emery‘s side, who are now third in the table. Pep Guardiola’s side are fourth in the Premier League table and have a number of key absentees.
The long-term absence of Kevin De Bruyne has certainly affected Manchester City’s season, as after the departure of Gündogan, reinforcements such as Matheus Nunes and Mateo Kovacić have arrived, players of a good level, but somewhat inferior to the German and ‘KDB’.
The departures have led Pep to ‘invent’ a new position for Julián Álvarez, and Bernardo Silva has also been rotated in the winger’s position.
The clearest cause of this bad run of form is the absence of Rodri in midfield. The Spaniard is the most important player in Guardiola’s scheme and the Cityzens haven’t won a single game without him on the pitch, a totally overwhelming statistic.
Despite occupying fourth place, City still have a real chance of competing for the title with Arsenal and Liverpool, as they are only three points behind Arteta’s side, a distance that is by no means decisive.
For many, it is the most complete squad in the world, to which this season we must also add the arrivals of Gvardiol and Doku. The Belgian is proving to be the most distinctive player, as he is bringing a verticality and a bursting ability that was lacking last season, bringing an extra surprise factor to Guardiola’s team.
Manchester City are still favourites to win the Premier League and have one of the best squads in the world. The crisis seems to be passing and, after the win over Luton Town, it looks like Pep’s side’s form will return to ‘normal’.
Can they achieve another treble this season?
Translated by Marcos Rodríguez.
Main image: @ManCity.
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