Manchester City are stuck in a vicious circle – and could stay there for some time

Manchester City they have won just once in their last 10 matches. From the outside it seems surprising that such a run it took so long that the players and their brilliant manager couldn’t find a solution and things quickly returned to normal.

But the reality is that this could continue for some time to come, a particularly big concern for the club ahead of Sunday’s Manchester derby.

City are stuck in a vicious cycle where many of their most solid and consistent players are injured and the remaining fit players are tired. It means that a team already lacking in physicality and mobility in midfield because of RodriHis season-long absence may be addressed at the break.

Ilkay Gundogan he specified exactly what the problems were 2-0 defeat against Juventusone that leaves City 22 again Champions League format, they need at least one win from their last two matches to secure just one play-off spot.

“At the moment it feels like every attack we give is so dangerous,” Gundogan told TNT Sports. “And I feel like sometimes we’re a bit sloppy in duels. Instead of playing simple, we complicate things and miss the right time to pass the ball, to release the ball and just lose balls and they score in transition every time. We give them counter-attacks and we have to chase back 50, 60 meters.

“That’s not what we’re made for, we’re made for possession and to keep the ball, be strong and even if you can’t do anything in the duel, don’t lose it. Right now it’s just not working for us.”

He was asked about the lack of confidence in the team. “It’s a big part of it and obviously it’s a mental issue as well. One action, we’ll miss the ball or lose a duel and you see that we get away immediately, that we lose the rhythm and they are able to break our rhythm with the smallest things. He doesn’t even have to do much and he’s having such an effect on us right now.”

City already looked poor on the counter-attack in the immediate aftermath of Rodri’s injury, but at least they managed to claw their way to wins against Fulham and Wolves earlier in the season. This could be their level if they had more of their key men available – not at their best but certainly not weak enough to have won just once in 10 games.

Those around Guardiola were hoping things would improve after the international break in November because John Stones, Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji, Ruben Diaz, Jeremy Doku and Kevin De Bruyne they were ready to return from injury.

Josko Gvardiol is one of Manchester City’s few fit defenders (Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

But their attempts to return to anything even remotely close to their best have been hampered once again. Stones disappeared in the first leg back and even City’s win Nottingham Forest last week was immediately undermined by Akanji and Ake get injured againthe impact of which was seen in the two matches since then.

They didn’t know that Mateo Kovacic would be hurt with Croatiaeither, or that Phil Foden it would make bronchitis. It’s one thing after another.

Foden failed to recapture last season’s sparkling form at a time when De Bruyne missed around 10 weeks, robbing the team of creativity.

There are some issues that aren’t necessarily fitness-related: City’s wings aren’t a goal-scoring threat. Erling Haaland he looked tired. When you can’t keep the ball out of the net, you better put it at the other end, and they often struggled to do that.

These are not new problems, but there is no sign that the biggest causes are abating. Guardiola emphasized that further the 2-2 draw at Crystal Palace on Saturday.

“The solution is ‘give me the players back’ and we’ll do it, but it’s not possible now and I don’t think it’s going to happen for a long time,” he said and went on to explain exactly. Why.

Pep Guardiola is desperate to get his players fit again (Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

“We got our four centre-backs back last week but they went from the massage table to the pitch and after the pitch they went to the massage table again. Normally after the massage you need tempo, training, but under the circumstances I couldn’t.

“They come from many years of reaching the final stages of all competitions and eventually there comes a point where the body can’t take it. When we got to the final stages of the domestic triple or quadruple season it was because everyone is there or everyone is involved, but today in those positions, except for McAtee, Grealish, Jeremy, the others are from the academy and it will be. the same for the next three weeks, a month.”

Guardiola, for years misunderstood because of the constant rotation of his players, had to start Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan in the six games since the international break. De Bruyne, fresh from that injury, has played the last three games, while Dias, also back from injury, has started the last four. That’s not how Guardiola likes to manage his team and the fear is that those players are also starting to decline, but there aren’t many options in reserve.

GO DEEPER

Why Pep Guardiola feels the pressure – and how he deals with it

Foden and Kovacic were on the bench in Turin but did not come on, meaning they may have to come straight off the massage table against Manchester United Sunday. He would add freshness and some spark, but wouldn’t really solve the problems on the counter-attack, especially with Rico Lewis suspended, meaning Guardiola’s in-form defenders – if Akanji is unavailable – are Dias, Josko Guardiol, Kyle Walker (who has been struggling badly for weeks) and youngster Jamai Simpson-Pusey.

Manchester United aren’t setting the world alight at the moment either, but from City’s point of view their problems have been apparent for some time and their attempts to rectify them are severely hampered by a fitness situation that isn’t improving – that’s why victory over Forest it could never be a catalyst for a revival.

It’s certainly unusual to see City so vulnerable and it certainly won’t last until the end of the season, but listening to Guardiola and Gundogan, it’s hard to see things getting steadily better just yet.

(Top photo: Marco Bertorello/AFP via Getty Images)