When will Guardiola be able to lead Manchester City to victory?
It seems that no one can provide an answer, least of all Guardiola himself. In every match, he strives for victory, but ultimately fails to secure it. His words are not to be trusted.
In the 18th round of the Premier League, Manchester City faced Everton at home, a team fighting relegation. Prior to this match, City had lost nine out of their last 12 games. Surely, they were due for a win? However, the match ended in a 1:1 draw, with Haaland missing a penalty that could have been the game-winner.
City has only managed one win in their last 13 games, making their chances of defending their Premier League title, which they've won eight times (like Messi), increasingly slim, and their prospects of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League are fading.
Post-match analysis saw Guardiola expressing satisfaction, citing that while Arsenal and Chelsea failed to score against Everton, City did manage to find the net.
While his statement is technically correct, shouldn't there be higher aspirations? For instance, setting small goals like scoring a goal or earning a point... If these are achieved, wouldn't it be reasonable to expect a win in the next match?
If City fails to secure a win by the end of the season, despite recently extending Guardiola's contract by two years and paying a hefty release clause, the club's owner may still opt to dismiss him. While the owner is not short on funds, they are not infinite. Without European competition qualification, the losses could amount to over 100 million euros, which I emphasize is in euros.
City's next match will be an away game against Leicester City.
Leicester City vs. Manchester City
Competition: Premier League Round 19
Match Time: December 29, 22:30
Leicester City may only be considered a small club in the Premier League, but they have made history in football. In the 2015-16 season, under the guidance of Claudio Ranieri, Leicester City defeated the likes of the 'BIG6' and other giants to win their first-ever top-flight league title in their 132-year history, an achievement known as the "Leicester City Miracle."
Their true strength lies in their ability to maintain a foothold in the Premier League, which is no easy feat. They have good players and coaches, but struggle to retain them, possibly because they don't prioritize doing so. More often than not, they oscillate between divisions, spending longer periods in lower leagues after promotion. This season, as newly promoted, they began their campaign battling relegation, a situation exacerbated by the departure of manager Claudio Ranieri to Chelsea shortly after securing promotion.
In the 12th round of the Premier League, Leicester City lost 1:2 at home to Chelsea, leading to the dismissal of their coach, Steve Cooper. Their new coach, former Manchester United assistant manager Michael Carrick, made his debut in the 14th round with a 3:1 home win against West Ham United. However, they have since gone on a run of one draw and three losses, including a recent streak of three consecutive defeats. Vitor Pereira, the former Shanghai Port coach from the Chinese Super League, has led another relegation-threatened team, Wolverhampton Wanderers, to two consecutive victories, escaping the relegation zone, which has pushed Leicester City into it.
After 18 rounds, Leicester City has 3 wins, 5 draws, and 10 losses, accumulating 14 points, ranking 18th in the Premier League table, one point behind 17th-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers. Manchester City, on the other hand, has 8 wins, 4 draws, and 6 losses, accumulating 28 points, ranking 7th, 14 points behind Liverpool (who have played one fewer match) at the top, and 5 points behind fourth-placed Arsenal (also with one fewer match).
Leicester City has won 1, drawn 2, and lost 7 in their last 10 matches across all competitions.
Manchester City has won 1, drawn 3, and lost 6 in their last 10 matches across all competitions.
Given these results, the reigning champions and title contenders are on par with the newly promoted and relegation-threatened teams. City has only managed one more point than Leicester City.
In their last 10 encounters, Leicester City has won 2 and lost 8, putting them at a disadvantage.
This time, playing as guests at Leicester City, facing a team in the relegation zone, City is unlikely to turn their fortunes around and might even suffer a significant defeat.