Man City have THREE games to save their season as Pep Guardiola sees stunt backfire

Pep Guardiola's men are present connected the verge of Champions League elimination aft giving up 2 precocious goals successful their 3-2 decision by Real Madrid astatine the Etihad connected Tuesday night

The banner mocking Real Madrid for boycotting the Ballon d'Or successful protestation astatine Rodri winning it implicit Vinicius Jr was the latest ain extremity successful a play afloat of them from Manchester City.

The elephantine tifo, depicting Rodri kissing the celebrated trophy, was accompanied by the connection 'Stop Crying Your Heart Out' – a taunt astatine Real and Vinicius for their arguable determination to snub the ceremony. But the stunt – successful which City were complicit by allowing the banner to beryllium unfurled, contempt it contravening their stated regulations regarding banners and flags – backfired spectacularly.

Real staged another of their celebrated precocious comebacks implicit City to people doubly precocious connected and instrumentality a 3-2 lead into adjacent Wednesday's decisive Champions League play-off instrumentality limb astatine the Bernabeu.

The decision has near City facing 3 games that could yet marque oregon interruption a play successful which their aura of invincibility has been stripped away, leaving them looking decidedly ordinary.

On Saturday, City big Newcastle, a conflict betwixt 5th and sixth, wherever decision for Pep Guardiola's faltering broadside would spot their opponents spell supra them, to further dent their hopes of a top-four finish. After that is City's travel to Madrid, wherever fewer would stake against holders Real progressing astatine their expense, followed by the sojourn of Premier League leaders Liverpool to the Etihad Stadium.

Lose each 3 and City's play could efficaciously beryllium over, with lone the FA Cup and an unedifying scramble for a top-four spot near to play for this season.

Conversely, should City defy the likelihood and triumph each three, they would revive a moribund play and beryllium their enduring quality, contempt their caller struggles. But it is hard to spot that script unfolding implicit the adjacent 3 games, erstwhile the recurring taxable this word has been City imploding and displaying a hitherto unseen intelligence fragility.

They person not been helped by injuries, of course, with enforced and prolonged absences for players including Rodri, Ederson, John Stones, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, Oscar Bobb and Kevin De Bruyne.

But the determination not to put successful the squad past summertime has proven to beryllium a monolithic oversight, arsenic were the decisions to re-sign Ilkay Gundogan from Barcelona and support Kyle Walker, who joined AC Milan connected indebtedness past month, but who should person been offloaded by City past summer. The nonaccomplishment to enlistee a specializer right-back to regenerate Walker was different immense blunder. Walker's battles with Vinicius successful caller seasons were 1 of the engaging subplots of the clashes betwixt City and Real.

But with the England defender gone, it was near to Manuel Akanji and Rico Lewis to deputise determination and effort to incorporate the menace of arguably the champion winger connected the planet, with some predictably coming up short.

City did yet splash the currency successful January, their £175million outlay connected 4 players astir arsenic overmuch arsenic the remainder of the Premier League spent successful the window, but tellingly nary of those caller recruits were included successful Guardiola's starting line-up to look Real.

So is this the opening of the extremity of City's epoch of dominance? The grounds of this play would look to suggest so. Guardiola has signed connected for different 2 years and volition beryllium determined to rebuild his squad 1 last clip to crook City into serial winners again.

But with Liverpool connected people to triumph the Premier League astatine a canter and Real having provided a timely reminder of their peerless and enduring pedigree successful Europe, Guardiola has it each to bash to reassert himself arsenic the top manager of the modern era.

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