Manchester City are currently in relegation form and
there is little sign of it ending.
Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa left
them joint bottom of the form table over the past eight games with just
Southampton for company.
Saints, at the foot of the Premier League, have the same
number of points, four, as City over their past eight matches having won one,
drawn one and lost six - the same record as the floundering champions.
And if Southampton - who appointed Ivan Juric as
their new manager on Saturday - get at least a point at Fulham on
Sunday, City will be on the worst run in the division.
Even Wolves, who sacked boss Gary O'Neil last Sunday
and replaced him with Vitor Pereira, have earned double the number of
points during the same period having played a game fewer.
They are damning statistics for Pep Guardiola, even if he
does have some mitigating circumstances with injuries to Ederson, Nathan Ake
and Ruben Dias - who all missed the loss at Villa Park - and the long-term
loss of midfield powerhouse Rodri.
Guardiola was happy with Saturday's performance, despite
defeat in Birmingham, but there is little solace to take at slipping further
out of the title race.
He may have needed to field a half-fit Manuel Akanji and
John Stones at Villa Park but that does not account for City looking a shadow
of their former selves.
That does not justify the error Josko Gvardiol made to gift
Jhon Duran a golden chance inside the first 20 seconds, or £100m man Jack
Grealish again failing to have an impact on a game.
There may be legitimate reasons for City's drop off, whether
that be injuries, mental fatigue or just simply a team coming to the end of its
lifecycle, but their form, which has plunged off a cliff edge, would have been
unthinkable as they strolled to a fourth straight title last season.
"The worrying thing is the number of goals
conceded," said ex-England captain Alan Shearer on OceanNewsUK Match of the Day.
"The number of times they were opened up because of the
lack of protection and legs in midfield was staggering. There are so many
things that are wrong at this moment in time."
Afterwards Guardiola was calm, so much so it was difficult
to hear him in the news conference, a contrast to the frustrated figure he cut
on the touchline.
He said: "It depends on us. The solution is bring the
players back. We have just one central defender fit, that is difficult. We are
going to try next game - another opportunity and we don't think much further
than that.
"Of course there are more reasons. We concede the goals
we don't concede in the past, we [don't] score the goals we score in the past.
Football is not just one reason. There are a lot of little factors.
"Last season we won the Premier League, but we came
here and lost. We have to think positive and I have incredible trust in the
guys. Some of them have incredible pride and desire to do it. We have to find a
way, step by step, sooner or later to find a way back."
Villa boss Unai Emery highlighted City's frailties, saying
he felt Villa could seize on the visitors' lack of belief.
"Manchester City are a little bit under the confidence
they have normally," he said. "The second half was different, we
dominated and we scored. Through those circumstances they were feeling worse
than even in the first half."
Haaland admits confidence is waning
There are chinks in the armour never seen before at City
under Guardiola and Erling Haaland conceded belief within the squad is low.
He told TNT after the game: "Of course, [confidence
levels are] not the best. We know how important confidence is and you can see
that it affects every human being. That is how it is, we have to continue and
stay positive even though it is difficult."
Haaland, with 76 goals in 83 Premier League appearances
since joining City from Borussia Dortmund in 2022, had one
shot and one touch in the Villa box.
His 18 touches in the whole game were the lowest of all
starting players and he has been self critical, despite scoring 13 goals in the
top flight this season.
Over City's last eight games he has netted just twice
though, but Guardiola refused to criticise his star striker.
He said: "Without him we will be even worse but I like
the players feeling that way. I don't agree with Erling. He needs to have the
balls delivered in the right spots but he will fight for the next one."
