'They did not want to play' - Pep Guardiola reaction to record Man City defeat speaks volumes
“They defend so deep and the lack of creating chances we got nervous,” said Pep Guardiola after witnessing the worst defeat in his Manchester City reign. “They did not want to play, they just wanted to counter-attack."
It is an assessment that could be applied to any of the 12 winless games in the last two months, albeit without the 'did not want to play' verdict given Guardiola has learned not to disrespect opposition styles and approaches.
When Leicester rocked up at the Etihad Stadium in 2020, fans still absent due to Covid, Jamie Vardy fired a hat-trick and City were beaten 5-2. At the time, it was their worst result under Guardiola. Now it feels the norm.
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Guardiola takes his bruised and battered City squad to Leicester and Vardy remains a threat for the Foxes. He has enjoyed some good results over Leicester but also lost 4-2 in 2016 with another Vardy hat-trick to lose back-to-back games for the first time, and they were beaten 2-1 in 2018 for another example of two quick defeats in a row.
It seems when City are out of sorts, facing Leicester is the last thing they need.
The 5-2 result was the most shocking, however. Three penalties conceded spoke of self-inflicted mistakes, and the comparisons to the current run are endless.
"The moment we started to get nervous, we thought we were not doing well," Guardiola said.
“We are not going to create 10 chances. We have to know it is difficult. Even at 5-2 Leicester were in the 18-yard box. I am not going to give up, I am going to try to find solutions. Of course it’s tough, we have to accept it."
What City will cling to is that they bounced back to win the title that season, as they did in 2018, but that prospect feels impossible this term. No side has ever won the Premier League title in a 38-game season by losing seven games in a campaign, and City are on six defeats (not to mention 14 points behind the leaders).
After the 5-2 reverse, City opened the chequebook to sign Ruben Dias who instantly transformed the defence. They will look for reinforcements in January to arrest their slide and will need someone to have a similar instant impact to Dias back in 2020/21.
Leicester may be struggling, but Guardiola knows more than anyone how tricky a trip to the King Power will be. Especially if Jamie Vardy is still capable of getting in behind their fragile defence.
