At the start of the season, it seemed that Pep Guardiola and his team had left the crisis behind, but this week they have suffered a couple of defeats that could be lethal for the Spanish coach.
This Saturday the City fell against Manchester United with a score of 2-0 with goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Dorgu. A painful defeat not only because of the rival, but because of the context. City continues to drop points and move away from an Arsenal side that has reached 50 points and is slowly establishing itself as the favourite to be crowned champion.
Manchester City suffer heavy defeat in the Champions League
Manchester City went into the match as overwhelming favourites, the question was not who was going to win, but how many goals the English side was going to score. However, the modest Norwegian club showed Viking power and surprised twice with goals from Kasper Hogh during the first half to take a comfortable 2-0 lead into the dressing room.
In the second half, the third goal came with a placed shot from Jens Petter Hauge that seemed to put the game beyond doubt. Rayan Cherki scored the consolation goal, feinting a slight reaction, but that feeling did not last long, as a couple of minutes later Rodri was sent off leaving City with one man less and without hope of a comeback.
Bodo Glimt took all three points and the respect of the crowd as they put in a monumental performance against a City side that is a shadow of what it was a couple of seasons ago.
Pep Guardiola breaks silence after Champions League defeat
After the defeat in the Champions League, Pep Guardiola analyzed the moment his team is going through and acknowledged that the absences have affected performance in key areas of the field
We arrived at some departments without important players and they are a bit fragile as they were last season in a certain period, but how they fought, 10 against 11, many players stepped forward
Guardiola regretted missing an important opportunity, but was self-critical of the small details that marked the result. “The feeling is that everything is going wrong, that in many details the game is going against us,” he concluded, before closing with a message of confidence: “The players are there and we are going to try“.
The Spanish coach’s credit seems to be running out, but it is also true that the absence of players such as Bernardo Silva, or the poor form of key players such as Haaland or Rodri, condition a team that, although still alive in all competitions, does not seem to be a serious candidate to win any of them.
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