Pep Guardiola has told his Manchester City players not to feel sorry for themselves as form and fitness continues to hamper their season.
City have won just one of their last nine matches in all competitions, with their latest dropped points coming on Saturday in a 2-2 draw away to Crystal Palace.
Their rapid drop-off in form is a sharp departure from Guardiola’s hugely successful reign at large, which has seen them win a Treble in 2023, including the Champions League, as well as the last four consecutive Premier League titles.
City were already missing Rodri, Phil Foden, Mateo Kovacic, John Stones and Oscar Bobb, before defensive duo Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake missed the trip to Selhurst Park having featured in midweek in the win over Nottingham Forest.
When asked how his side will return to their previous best, Guardiola said: “We have to. The solution is to get my players back, but it’s not possible right now.
“We recovered last week four central defenders, but they passed the massage table to the pitch, and after the pitch they went to the massage table again.
“The doctors and physios, especially — everyone is working like I have never seen before. But we have fewer players to rotate in this part of the season.
“For the next three weeks or one month, the same is going to happen. This is the challenge. And this is why the challenge has been given.”
Guardiola added: “What I said to the players is: ‘Don’t feel sorry [for yourselves]. Accept the challenge. It will be more difficult, but it is what it is.
“Maybe in the end, we’ll have more satisfaction.”
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