As the world has found in recent weeks, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has absolutely lost his marbles after a spell which has seen his side win just one of their previous nine games.
The run is all a bit too unfamiliar for the Spanish boss, who has become so comfortable with winning everything English football has had to offer, though this season has put a huge dent in Manchester City‘s hopes of securing a fifth consecutive Premier League title.
Admittedly, Guardiola’s side has been decimated with injuries, with arguably his two strongest players in Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri having been sidelined for large parts of the season already, but it has been quite the laugh to see one of footballs greatest ever managers endure a period of utter head-loss.
Being so desperate to restore his side back on track, on the current situation, Guardiola said: “The solution to our problems is to give me my players back and we will do it. But it’s not possible right now, and I think it’s going to happen for a long time.”
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Despite having made a name for himself aside from lifting the 36 trophies he has done in his career, Guardiola has been an innovator for large parts through utilising players as false nines, inverted full-backs and ball-playing goalkeepers, but his current injury list feels a step too far even for someone of his standards.
Rodri has been the biggest piece in the Guardiola puzzle since signing from Atletico Madrid in 2019, having won the Ballon D’or earlier this year but he is set to miss the rest of the season to which Pep seems to have no answer for.
Guardiola said: “I said to the players: don’t feel sorry, please. Accept the challenge, now it’ll be more difficult and maybe at the end we’ll have more satisfaction in the way we’re going to behave in these problems than maybe in other seasons that we won the PL title.”
City sit fourth in the table, eight points adrift of league leaders Liverpool, and it doesn’t get easier for them as they travel to Juventus on Wednesday night. After that, it’s Manchester United in the league. Depending on who you ask, it may well just get much easier after their game in Turin.
Saying that, new United boss has already beaten his cross-town counterpart this season with former club Sporting Lisbon, and will be hoping for more of the same on Sunday.
