Manchester City shouldn’t panic but they are struggling in unfamiliar ways | Jonathan Wilson

Pep Guardiola’s team have lost four in a row. While they have overcome hurdles before the nature of their problems this season present a fresh challenge

Sign up to Soccer with Jonathan Wilson here

The danger is always of overreacting. We’ve seen Manchester City have a blip at this stage of the season before. But still, defeat to Brighton on Saturday means that, for the first time in his career as a manager, Pep Guardiola has lost four successive games. It would be extremely premature to suggest the empire is crumbling but, equally, for the first time in a long time there is a sense that City’s aura may be beginning to wane.

But first, some context. One defeat was in the Carabao Cup and another was in the Champions League, where City sit 10th in the table; even if they do miss out on the top eight who go through to the last 16 automatically – they have Feyenoord (home), Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain (away) and Club Brugge (home) next – they will surely at the very least be in the play-offs. But two of the recent defeats were in the Premier League, away at Bournemouth and then Brighton, and as a result City sit five points behind Liverpool.

This is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look from the Guardian US at the game in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Have a question for Jonathan? Email soccerwithjw@theguardian.com, and he’ll answer the best in a future edition

Topics

Taking Manchester United job would be an enormous risk for Rúben Amorim | Jonathan Wilson
World - The Guardian - October 29
Manchester City’s league title defence will be a struggle, Guardiola admits
World - The Guardian - November 4
Manchester City lose against Bournemouth as early-game struggles finally catch up with Pep Guardiola's team
Sports - CBS Sports - November 2
Can RFK Jr. really ‘run wild’ on healthcare? Investors shouldn’t panic yet.
Business - MarketWatch - November 9
The overstuffed football calendar is reducing quality but increasing drama | Jonathan Wilson
World - The Guardian - November 4
Nuno’s remarkable Forest resurrection rests on charming simplicity | Jonathan Wilson
World - The Guardian - November 9
No organisation, leadership or direction: Ghana are wasting a generation of talent | Jonathan Wilson
World - The Guardian - 4 days ago
NHL Power Rankings: Panic or patience on these struggling players in fantasy hockey?
Sports - ESPN - 3 days ago
Manchester’s lessons for other British cities
World - Financial Times - 6 days ago

Manchester City shouldn’t panic but they are struggling in unfamiliar ways | Jonathan Wilson

Topics

Related

Taking Manchester United job would be an enormous risk for Rúben Amorim | Jonathan Wilson

Manchester City’s league title defence will be a struggle, Guardiola admits

Manchester City lose against Bournemouth as early-game struggles finally catch up with Pep Guardiola's team

Can RFK Jr. really ‘run wild’ on healthcare? Investors shouldn’t panic yet.

The overstuffed football calendar is reducing quality but increasing drama | Jonathan Wilson

Nuno’s remarkable Forest resurrection rests on charming simplicity | Jonathan Wilson

No organisation, leadership or direction: Ghana are wasting a generation of talent | Jonathan Wilson

NHL Power Rankings: Panic or patience on these struggling players in fantasy hockey?

Manchester’s lessons for other British cities

More from The Guardian

ICC issues arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged Gaza war crimes

Ukraine claims Russia fired intercontinental ballistic missile at Dnipro

Police report details sexual assault allegations against Pete Hegseth

First close-up image of a star outside Milky Way shows supergiant in ‘cocoon’

Transgender woman wins record payout in China after electroshock treatment