Jamie Carragher says Man City duo's struggles reminiscent of two former Liverpool stars

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has compared the current struggles of Manchester City's Ilkay Gundogan and Mateo Kovacic to that of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson during the twilight of their spells at Anfield.

The Citizens slumped to a late collapse versus Feyenoord in the Champions League on Tuesday - surrendering a three-goal lead as the Dutch side earned a 3-3 draw. That shock result came after Pep Guardiola's struggling outfit lost five games in a row in what represents the worst run in the Spaniard's managerial career.

A 4-0 defeat at the weekend versus Tottenham Hotspur meant that the Premier League champions ended the weekend eight points off the summit after pace-setters Liverpool won at Southampton. Now, former Reds defender Carragher has given his verdict on the potential reasons behind City's alarming downturn in form.

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Speaking to Sky Sports, the pundit blamed aging legs in Guardiola's midfield for the slump, as he compared the situation to that of Liverpool two years ago. He said: "The problems they've got right now in the centre of midfield are reminiscent of what Liverpool had a couple of years ago, when they had Jordan Henderson and Fabinho in that role, and the legs are just gone."

Having put together a challenge for an unprecedented quadruple under Jurgen Klopp during the previous season, the Merseysiders finished in fifth place during the 2022-23 campaign. Ultimately, mainstays Henderson and Fabinho were moved on in the summer that followed.

Drawing parallels, Carragher identified the root of City's current problems, asserting: "We did some analysis on Monday Night Football about them getting done on the counter-attack, and that's what's happening to Manchester City right now. I think the age profile of the midfield is a problem.

"Rodri's won the Ballon d'Or and he's the best in the world in that position. But his replacements - Ilkay Gundogan well into his 30s and Kovacic who has turned 30 - haven't got great pace. The other midfield players, more attacking midfield players, but Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, well into the 30s as well."

Carragher added: "So that's a problem. No one can beat Father Time. As you get older, the sharpness, extra little bit of pace maybe comes away from you, and in that central midfield area, they've got a problem that, as we saw at Liverpool a couple of years ago, I don't think those players can fix."

Meanwhile, the Anfield hero also revealed that he believes the job of legendary coach Guardiola is safe, regardless of his team's poor form. He said: "Yes, he is. Sir Alex Ferguson was unsackable. I think Jurgen Klopp was probably unsackable at Liverpool. There's no way Manchester City would ever sack Pep Guardiola, even if he went two or three years without winning anything.

"I always felt that at Liverpool, with Jurgen Klopp. If he went two or three years without winning a trophy, we'd all still want him to be our manager, and who would you ever get who's better than Pep Guardiola?"