All that matters right now for Manchester City is the next game. That is a Premier League fixture against Nottingham Forest at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday evening. As City’s winless run stretched to seven games with their 2-nil defeat to Liverpool at Anfield yesterday, you can tell that Pep Guardiola’s side is lacking in confidence. They need to find a win from somewhere and the only way that can come is in their next fixture.
You couldn’t fault the character and heart shown by Manchester City after Liverpool’s early onslaught. To their credit, Pep Guardiola’s side did work their way back into the game. But individual errors and the lack of a cutting-edge going forward thwarted City’s chances of leaving Anfield with a point or more. If any passage of play sums up City’s current woes it was the errors from Ruben Dias and Kyle Walker which led to Stefan Ortega conceding a penalty late in the second half. Mo Salah confidently dispatched the resulting penalty and the game was over.
Speaking after the game Pep Guardiola believes his team can build on yesterday’s performance. It may be a slow process but the City manager did see some positives from his team’s performance. He told the media: “*The first 20 minutes we experienced [intensity and pressure] like when we came here in our prime. I saw how Ruben came back. How good Nathan controlled Salah. I want the team back. I want the players back. Three or four players came back [from injury] and the feeling from here is we started to build something. From here we’re going to try to build, win games and regain our confidence. Then we are team and it’s fantastic. I’m sitting here defending what we defend because these players give everything. The best years I lived in Manchester, and I have to find a solution to try to win games.*”
The only way Manchester City can build on the positives from yesterday’s performance is by focusing on their next match. That is a Premier League fixture against Nottingham Forest at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday evening. That will be no easy task as Forest currently sit 6th in the Premier League table. But as City’s winless run continued yesterday the only way they can build any confidence is by winning their next game. Looking to far ahead doesn’t hold much value at this stage. Manchester City need a win to restore their confidence. The sooner that comes there may be light at the end of the tunnel for Pep Guardiola’s side.