Micah Richards' brutal 'passengers' comment sums up Man City problem as Liverpool take advantage

Man City's worrying injury situation finally caught up with them this week and it has already had lasting consequences on their season.

Pep Guardiola handed a number of youngsters an opportunity against Tottenham in the Carabao Cup last Wednesday, as he attempted to ensure he could cobble together a patched up squad for their Premier League trip to Bournemouth.

City were beaten 2-1 by Spurs, ending their first chance of winning some silverware this season in the process. After that defeat in North London, there were fears they could be without eight first team players for their trip to Bournemouth.

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As it transpired, Kyle Walker, Manu Akanji and Josko Gvardiol managed to shake off injury scares to make up three of the back four at the Vitality Stadium.

Jeremy Doku came off the bench, despite it being expected that he would not return until after the international break. And Savinho and Kevin De Bruyne were named on the bench despite not being expected back fit for a little while longer.

As a result, the team named at Bournemouth was a mix of players who have perhaps played more minutes than Guardiola would have liked in recent weeks, with players who have not played the amount of minutes he would have liked in recent weeks.

Unsurprisingly, City looked disjointed for most of the match and were punished thanks to goals from Antoine Semenyo and Evanilson. Gvardiol did pull a goal back but could not prevent City from falling to a 2-1 defeat on the South Coast.

Former City title winners Joe Hart and Micah Richards were the two pundits on Saturday's Match of the Day and they both felt the defeat was a result of their injury crisis finally catching up with them.

"I think a little bit," Hart replied when asked by host Gary Lineker if injuries are catching up with Man City at the moment.

"I think Pep was very clear with his message this week that he is running low. But that is the ruthlessness of this league. There would have been nobody in Bournemouth feeling sorry for them.

"Their ears would have pricked up. Iraola's ears would have pricked up and he would have said 'if we can bring the intensity on Saturday, then we have a real good chance."

Richards added: "I think in the Premier League, you can't really carry passengers. It is such a physical league and they have obviously looked at that and thought they could hurt Man City in certain areas."

On the face of it, Richards' 'passengers' comment seems a little brutal but that is the stark reality of their situation. Guardiola will be desperate for the November international break to regroup and refresh his squad after a bruising run of fixtures.

Saturday's loss saw Liverpool leapfrog City at the top of the Premier League table and also meant Guardiola's side failed to build further distance between themselves and Arsenal after the Gunners' 1-0 defeat to Newcastle.

A trip to Lisbon is next up for City in the Champions League before a tough trip to in-form Brighton next weekend in the Premier League.

Guardiola will hope City emerge from those two games unscathed, and without extending their run of two consecutive losses, so they can get their season back on track and their treatment room under control.