What Man City must urgently fix as it gets so bad for Pep Guardiola he is left with scratches all over head

WATCHING Pep Guardiola scratching his caput unrecorded connected tv connected Tuesday nighttime was the eventual motion of a manager astatine his wits’ end.

Yes, the Spanish sorcerer was lone scraping his caput and face.

You didn’t person to beryllium Monty Python’s Black Knight to state the chopped connected his chemoreceptor “only a soma wound”.

But for a Guardiola broadside to throw distant a 3 extremity pb astatine HOME inside the last fewer minutes demonstrated the epic standard of City’s diminution and fall.

Even a fewer weeks ago, contempt the ongoing disconnected tract unreality of the “115” alleged fiscal rules breaches that is being heard successful a cardinal London venue, City were not acold from their customary relentless selves.

Five consecutive defeats, including 3 successful the Prem, were capped disconnected by that 4-0 location thumping by Spurs connected Saturday - a crippled that was expected to beryllium a solemnisation of the manager signing his caller two-year deal.

And Guardiola’s admissions that his squad are “fragile” and “not stable”, joking that helium wanted to “hurt himself” and his wide bearing demonstrated conscionable however overmuch has gone wrong, truthful quickly.

Sun Sport looks astatine the cardinal issues that indispensable beryllium addressed.  

No Rodri, nary Party

The ovation the City fans gave the Spain midfielder arsenic helium raised his Ballon d’Or trophy earlier the Tottenham trauma told its ain story.

The world is that Rodri’s lack has near a spread that cipher successful the City squad tin capable connected their own.

Not Mateo Kovacic - presently connected the missing database - oregon John Stones, oregon Rico Lewis. Nobody.

Instead of a coagulated antiaircraft screen, City person begun to correspond a farmer’s stile. A spot of legwork and you are implicit the top. 

It has been an unfastened invitation for teams that person a tendency to wounded City - arsenic Spurs, Bournemouth, Brighton, Sporting and present Feyenoord person shown.

Guardiola has ne'er been shy astir his tendency to reinvent football, clip and again.

Perhaps, though, helium has to ponder adding to the antiaircraft information of his broadside by a alteration of shape.

If helium has not got 1 subordinate to bash the Rodri role, possibly helium needs 2 successful there?

Bring up the bodies

Guardiola has not hidden however overmuch helium has been wounded by the injury crisis that started earlier the play kicked off.

Oscar Bobb had been earmarked for a cardinal relation this word but the Norwegian broke his limb successful August and volition not instrumentality until astatine slightest February.

Then came Rodri’s season-ending cruciate wounded against Arsenal.

Kevin de Bruyne and Jack Grealish person made conscionable 4 Prem starts retired of 12 games, Stones three, Nathan Ake lone one.

And with things already teetering, the calf wounded that forced Ruben Dias disconnected aft 45 minutes of the Carabao Cup decision astatine Tottenham feels similar the straw that broke the camel’s back.

City person conceded 15 goals successful the past 5 games. Dias is the lynchpin of the backmost line. It’s not rocket science.

Legs gone

Alan Hansen was famously incorrect erstwhile helium declared “you don’t triumph thing with kids”.

But possibly what we are seeing with Pep’s broadside is that the Premier League is nary state for aged men.

Six of City’s outfield squad are present 30-somethings - and it is starting to look that way, too.

Timo Werner happily accepting the invitation to tally legs disconnected Kyle Walker to acceptable up Tottenham’s 4th astatine the play was symbolic of the 34-year-old’s abrupt carnal limitations. 

Walker’s gait has ever been his super-power. He looks similar helium has present swallowed Kryptonite.

Many City fans celebrated Ilkay Gundogan’s instrumentality successful the summer aft his unhappy twelvemonth astatine Barcelona but those cheers person stalled. 

Gundogan was walking successful heavy mud arsenic James Maddison gave him the gaffe astatine the weekend, portion Bernardo Silva has been a airy imitation of his mean self.

Guardiola has driven his players relentlessly for 8 years. Many of them person been connected the travel with him each the way.

But it looks arsenic if they person tally retired of road. 

Where City utilized to cognize they could out-play and out-run sides, that is nary longer the case.

It did not assistance that the successive Prem games City mislaid were against arguably the 3 of the champion footballing sides successful the league.

All of them are teams that privation to person a go.  

The fearfulness origin has disappeared and opponents are seeing the vulnerabilities alternatively than being cowed by the strengths. 

Goal glut gone

Ever since the accomplishment of Erling Haaland, City person been astir unstoppable.

The Norwegian has led the mode but helium has not been alone.

And this season, by contrast, with Haaland having gone disconnected the boil successful caller weeks, his team-mates person been incapable to capable the void.

In their 12 Prem matches truthful far, City person scored 22 goals - less than Spurs, Liverpool and Chelsea and the aforesaid fig arsenic Brentford.

By contrast, astatine the aforesaid constituent past term, they had scored 32 and successful 2022-23 it was 33.

Haaland’s 12 extremity instrumentality is lone marginally down connected the erstwhile campaigns erstwhile helium had 14 2 years agone and 13 past clip round.

But Phil Foden, whose 14 goals successful the 2nd fractional of past word transcend Haaland’s tally, has yet to find the nett successful the Prem and defender Josko Gvardiol - whose blunders astatine the backmost look to beryllium connected repeat - is second-highest scorer with three.

You person to wonderment whether Guardiola is present regretting his determination to authorisation the departure of Manchester calved and bred Cole Palmer and Argentina’s World Cup-winning Julian Alvarez.

Palmer has scored 32 successful 59 appearances for Chelsea, including 7 successful 14 games this term, portion Alvarez’ free-kick astatine Sparta Prague was his ninth successful 20 for Atletico Madrid.

City bagged £124m for the pair. But keeping them would person been priceless.

Mentality monstered

When it mattered, Guardiola’s squad ALWAYS knew however to find a way.

It looked that mode again erstwhile Stones headed the wounded clip victor astatine Wolves past month.

Yet present it each feels precise different. A squad that is starting to look for self-pity arsenic soon arsenic thing goes against them.

Those losses astatine Spurs successful the Carabao and past Bournemouth mightiness person been a blip.

But 3 much are a full-scale crisis.

The mode City turned their toes up successful the second fractional against Sporting was the archetypal existent motion of what Guardiola is present admitting is “frailty”.

Then Brighton scored doubly successful 5 minutes to crook the crippled astatine the Amex connected its head, with City abruptly powerless to respond.

Against Spurs, the aerial went retired of the City balloon arsenic soon arsenic Maddison scored his first. The intelligence paralysis was evident.

And connected Tuesday night, from 3 up and cruising against Feyenoord, it was a singular implosion.

Under that benignant of pressure, a manager needs his players to basal up and beryllium counted.

Too galore are folding, seeming to consciousness themselves incapable of affecting change. 

And now, looming, is what would beryllium the biggest trial of the play yet adjacent successful mean circumstances.

City person not won successful beforehand of a assemblage astatine Anfield since 2003, erstwhile Nicolas Anelka stole the points successful the past minute.

Another decision would permission them 11 points adrift of Arne Slot’s side. 

They cognize what they face, connected and disconnected the pitch.

This clip it’s the visitors who volition person to locomotion connected done the storm, 1 that is raging astir Guardiola and his squad.