Premier League 2024-25: Onus on Guardiola to prove himself amid City’s winless slump

A loss at Anfield on Sunday would leave Guardiola’s men 11 points adrift of the leaders in the Premier League title race, but the Spaniard said he was thinking big picture rather than the potential ramifications of one game.

Manchester City’s head coach Pep Guardiola takes his seat on the bench before the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Manchester City and Feyenoord at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. | Photo Credit: AP

With Manchester City mired in a six-game winless slump and facing one of its biggest challenges this season at Liverpool this weekend, manager Pep Guardiola said the onus was on him to prove he can right the ship.

A loss at Anfield on Sunday would leave Guardiola’s men 11 points adrift of the leaders in the Premier League title race, but the Spaniard said he was thinking big picture rather than the potential ramifications of one game.

“Of course, I am thinking what I can do to help them (the players), but in the long career as a player and a manager, you live these situations,” said Guardiola, who recently signed a two-year contract extension.

“When you live it - accept it and challenge it. No complaining, no blaming, no pointing the figure or running from your responsibility. If you don’t win, you’re in trouble, I know that,” he added.

“The moment I feel I am not positive for the club, another one (manager) will come, but I want the opportunity to try it, and I want to rebuild the team in many aspects from now on until the end of the season and the next seasons. I ask for that challenge and this opportunity to do it,” he continued, in an answer that stretched for nearly four minutes.

“I know what we need, what we have to do. We don’t have the consistency we had right now, but which team during 10 years in the world has been consistent, tell me one. They don’t exist - not in NBA, tennis, golf.

“It proves how we are as sportsmen and competitors. It is easiest when you have 10, 12 games in a row and everyone is fit and in their prime. I have to prove myself now. I have to find a solution and a way to do it, and I am trying every day.”

City has been stung by injuries to key players, but Guardiola kept his cards close to his chest about who might be fit to play on Sunday, saying: “We will see.”

A 4-0 rout by Tottenham Hotspur at The Etihad last weekend marked its third successive Premier League loss, and a defeat at Anfield would be its first four-game losing streak in the top flight since 2007. It would also surpass its total number of losses from the whole 2023-24 season.

City fans can take comfort in the fact that their side have climbed back from deficits of eight points or more to win the league four times with Guardiola at the helm.

While a defeat on Sunday would make City’s title hopes “more difficult,” Guardiola said, the Spaniard reiterated that he was not thinking of trophies.

“In the situation we’re in, it’s not realistic to think about big targets. The situation is to think about the next game and getting the momentum to continue, and that will come back,” he said.

“I have learned all my life to move forward in the good moments and the bad moments. It’s how many times you stand up when again and again you fall.

“We will be back, I know that. I don’t know when that is - the truth.”