MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 10: Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City, juggles the ball during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD6 training and press conference at Manchester City Football Academy on December 10, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 10: Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City, juggles the ball during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD6 training and press conference at Manchester City Football Academy on December 10, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Pep Guardiola is 'annoyed' and 'obsessively' looking for a solution to Manchester City's drastic drop in form.
City approach Christmas with just one win in 11 games, crashing out of the Carabao Cup and leaving their Premier League title defence in tatters. The Blues have also gone three games in the Champions League without winning leaving them facing a probable play-off in February to reach the last-16.
This week, Guardiola gave his players two much-needed days off after defeat against Manchester United, and ahead of the important trip to Aston Villa on Saturday.
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Goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, who has started three of the last 11 games - including the sole win against Nottingham Forest - has spoken to German media about the current run and lifted the lid on Guardiola's mindset in recent weeks, calling him 'annoyed' at City's form.
"He doesn't like losing, but he is very willing to find a solution," Ortega told Sky Germany. "Nobody can tell me that the coach who previously dominated all of England is suddenly too bad.
"Perhaps he is looking for a solution a little more obsessively. He is still close to being perfect all the time. I find him quite positive. He is really good to us. Also the charisma he has and the support he gives us."
Ortega echoed Guardiola's call for City's injured players to return before results will start to improve, insisting that would "get [us] back on the winning track pretty quickly."
And he hinted that if City can turn things around, it would be a bigger achievement than some of their recent titles given how deep the current crisis is.
He said: "If you get through this as a team and a club and pick yourself up as a team - also for yourself personally - it might even be worth a little more in the end than another title."