Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola has blamed just one person for Manchester City’s horrendous collapse at the weekend - himself.
The reigning Premier League champions slumped to yet another loss on Sunday, this time to fierce rivals Manchester United. City had enjoyed a perfect start after Josko Gvardiol’s header. But a late penalty from United captain Bruno Fernandes levelled matters. Matheus Nunes had fouled Amad with a poor challenge.
The Ivorian then secured victory for United with his winning goal just moments later. It condemned City to their eighth defeat in their last 11 games in all competitions.
But speaking after the full-time whistle, Guardiola refuses to lay blame at his player’s door and has claimed responsibility for City’s latest defeat. He said: "Not much to say. No defence, they were incredibly persistent. We have not lost eight games in two seasons. We can't defend that. It's not about this or that player.
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“We gave away goals, our fault. We don't play with composure. The results are not good, the game was not exceptional. I know the situation, I understand but the reality is this.
"They have to know that these situations happen. In the box you have to be careful. It's not about Matheus [Nunes], he played really good in not his position at full-back. But it's not about that, we have to play better. The result will help us to take our best but right now we don't have it. The way I learn is to keep going.
"I'm not good enough. I am the boss, the manager, I have to find solutions and so far I haven't. That's the reality. We want to play better, create chances. But at the moment it's not possible."
City’s latest reverse leaves their Premier League title defence in tatters. They are fifth and already nine points behind Liverpool having played a game more.
Man City have now lost eight of their last 11 games
What's going wrong for Man City? Share your thoughts in the comments below
And while Guardiola has claimed responsibility, City star Bernardo Silva has slammed his teammates for their displays. Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “We deserved what happened. At this level a game or two is unlucky. We can’t say this is lucky or unlucky - 10 games it’s not about that.
"Minute 87 in a derby, winning 1-0 and our corner ends in a penalty for them, if we make these stupid decisions with three or four minutes to go you deserve to pay for that. Looking at the game I think there was only one team that could win the game, but at the end we lost.
"It’s not one game, it’s a lot of games lately. We have to look at ourselves. You can say oh, it’s a bit unlucky, no. It’s the decisions you make. Today, in the last minute, we played like under-15s.”
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