Manchester City Manager Pep Guardiola Discusses Team’s Recent Losing Streak

Following Manchester City’s fourth consecutive loss on Saturday, manager Pep Guardiola stated that the notion of his team being “special” is “not true”. The 2-1 defeat to Brighton marked the first instance of four consecutive losses for City since Pep Guardiola assumed the managerial role in 2016. This result also represented the defending champions’ second straight league defeat, placing them five points behind league leaders Liverpool as they head into the international break. Guardiola commented, “I was a football player and many times I lost a lot of games – four in a row, five in a row, six in a row,” adding, “I never expect different – the fact we won in the past, that we are special. People can believe that, but it’s not true.” He further explained, “You can lose four games in different competitions.” The manager acknowledged, “I know after you win, everything is perfect. Against Fulham, we won and we played miles worse than today [against Brighton], Sporting Lisbon and Spurs. Miles away.” He concluded this thought by stating, “But we are not consistent enough to maintain this level that helped us to win what we want for many years. Hopefully in the future we’ll come back – and if we don’t come back, we’ll learn from that.” Despite their current dip in performance, it is not uncommon for City to experience a less successful period during this part of the year, as evidenced by a stretch in autumn 2023 where they secured only one victory in six matches before ultimately clinching the title once more. Guardiola also remarked, “Four in a row, but [we won] six titles in seven years, playing against Bournemouth and Brighton. All the teams in this league are important, that puts it in perspective. You take for granted before the season that City will win again.” He acknowledged the team’s current state, stating, “Right now, we are not in our best – it’s obvious. But still, it’s November so hopefully we’ll come back step by step.”