On the back of a chastening derby defeat last weekend, Manchester City were expected to bounce back in Norway on Tuesday night in the Champions League - instead, it was a nightmare evening for Pep Guardiola and co
Pep Guardiola reacts after the loss to Bodo/Glimt
Pep Guardiola reacts after the loss to Bodo/Glimt(Image: )
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At Manchester City, the plan is simple for Pep Guardiola. Win another Premier League and Champions League, add to a sparkling legacy, go out in a blaze of glory.
It could be this year. It could be next year. But more silverware, more gushing praise for a wonderful style of football and add a final gloss to a sparkling legacy.
That plan did not involve Pep Guardiola returning from the bitter cold of the Arctic Circle with his tail between his legs.
Guardiola is an undisputed managerial great. But even he is not immune to failure. And failure, right now, is staring the Manchester City boss straight in the face.
Guardiola must feel like he's been hit by a snowplough. His team has been humiliated not once, but twice in the space of a week. Embarrassed by the neighbours, City went to see some strangers, Poles apart from themselves and melted down completely. A night the minnows of Bodo/Glimt would never forget. A night Guardiola wishes he could - but likely never will.
City lost to a team based in a place with a population which is less than the capacity of the Etihad Stadium and gave Guardiola a sense of humiliation he won't be overly familiar with. It is a result that will have sent shockwaves around the footballing world, and which will embolden City's Champions League rivals. It proves Guardiola has serious problems to fix - and fast - if City are to avoid the very real threat of a second straight season without silverware.
This City side is full of weaknesses. Glaring weaknesses from back to front. On Tuesday night, City conceded three goals and saw their opponents have two more disallowed, having let two in four days earlier. Marc Guehi's arrival can't come soon enough.
Rodri won the Ballon d'or in 2024, but he looks a shell of his former self. Sent off for two bookings in the space of 60 seconds, he is well off the pace. He missed last season pretty much in its entirety after knee surgery, but finds himself now well off the pace, personifying City's inability to control possession, not to mention win it back.
Erling Haaland is struggling for goals himself of late
Erling Haaland is struggling for goals himself of late(Image: )
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In attack, Guardiola has the most lethal striker in world football, but due to the failings of those around him, is seeing Erling Haaland morph into someone who is about as threatening as a wet sponge. It's now eight games without a goal from open play. It's the Norwegian giant's worst run since 2018.
Haaland labelled the loss in his homeland as "embarrassing". Not words he will have ever felt he would be saying about the team to whom he has committed the next decade of his career. How he must miss Kevin De Bruyne, the Belgian - City's greatest ever player - with whom his relationship was telepathic. De Bruyne was always going to be tough for City to replace when the decision was made to part ways. Impossible perhaps. Attempting to do so with Tijani Reijnders hasn't worked.
Guardiola reckons City need a change in dynamic. The most obvious way to do so is to get rid of the manager. Frankly, at the Etihad, that will never happen.
Therefore, it's down to Guardiola to prove his genius once more. He needs to put right what is going wrong, before it's too late.