More pressure has been piled on Pep Guardiola after Aston Villa beat Manchester City 2-1 at Villa Park, thanks to goals from Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers.
Villa’s win leaves Man City with nine defeats in their last 12 matches – a run of form that was unimaginable before this season. They are now sixth in the Premier League table and could be as low as ninth by Monday if results go against them.
Speculation has been rife in recent days that Guardiola is under immense stress as a result of his team’s poor form, with potential resignation mooted by various outlets.
Following the game, Guardiola said that he felt his side played well in the first half but admitted they weren’t good enough yet again, in the whole game.
“We make a really good first half, second half we dropped. We changed our pressing for the reason John [Stones] could not continue. Congratulations Aston Villa and keep going.
“In the mid-block Aston Villa are so strong. We have good moments, we had chances, more chances than in the [Manchester] United game, but in the second half we dropped and our pressing was not good enough. We struggled a little bit and we could not drop them well. We found a goal in the end, but too late.
“We struggle to score and we concede goals.”
On whether he may need to change his approach, Guardiola added: “Yeah. I have to do it. Back my players, that is what will be different.”
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Villa fans goad Guardiola
Following Aston Villa’s second goal, supporters of the Midlands side were heard chanting ‘you’re getting sacked in the morning’ to Guardiola.
The Man City boss was furious following Rogers’ strike. He was seen on the touchline casting a dreary expression and was also seen throwing a water bottle as his anger got the better of him.
The images were soon shared on social media, with some fans suggesting the coach was close to tears.
One rival fan said: “Seeing Pep Guardiola on the verge of tears like this gives me insane dopamine rush lmao.”
However, Erling Haaland said following the game that he backs Guardiola to help Man City turn things around: “”He won the Premier League six times in seven years, so we will never forget that.
“He will find the solutions. He has been doing that every single year. We still believe in him, we have to work harder than ever right now.”
Guardiola resignation talk ramps up
As mentioned, Man City’s poor form has led to speculation that Guardiola could resign, or that he could even be sacked if the club fail to turn their results around.
Former Man City midfielder Dietmar Hamann recently said that Man City’s dismal run will be having a serious affect on Guardiola’s state of mind.
It is the worst run of form in the Catalan coach’s managerial career and he has said before he feels he is ‘not good enough’ to find the answers.
“I think the Man City job is having a big toll on Pep’s mental state, 100%,” Hamann said. “After the defeat to Man Utd, he didn’t know what to say in the press conference and admitted he was struggling to find answers to his problems.
“He’s never had a similar situation to this which is why it’s so hard for him – it’s taken him 18 years to have a spell this bad.”
Man City’s hierarchy have enormous faith in Guardiola but there will, eventually, come a point where even his potential is untenable.
In terms of potential replacements, Guardiola’s assistant Michel, Marseille boss Roberto de Zerbi and Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso are all reportedly in the running.
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Man City round-up: Zubimendi, Guimaraes updates / Kimmich hunt
Meanwhile, reports suggest that Man City are keen to sign a new midfielder in January to cover for injured superstar Rodri, who’s been badly missed this term.
Newcastle’s Bruno Guimaraes and Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi have both been heavily linked with a switch to the Etihad, but journalist for The Athletic, Sam Lee, has revealed that they are not winter targets for the Cityzens.
“At the risk of causing a meltdown before I go, City sources are indicating that neither Bruno Guimaraes or Martin Zubimendi are targets for January,” Lee posted on X.
However, one midfielder Man City could sign in is Bayern Munich star Joshua Kimmich, who thrived under Guardiola during their time together with the German giants.
According to reports, Guardiola has ‘given his approval’ for Man City to land the Bayern Munich man.
He is out of contract with the Bundesliga giants in the summer, so City could land Kimmich on a free then, but confirm the snare as soon as January.
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