Pep Guardiola makes something clear to Manchester City after suffering two consecutive losses

Pep Guardiola, known for building a legacy at Manchester City where losses are a rarity, now faces a challenging moment. This past week, the Citizens were dealt back-to-back setbacks, falling to Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup and to Bournemouth in the Premier League. Ahead of their UEFA Champions League clash with Sporting Lisbon, Guardiola addressed the team’s form, sending a clear message to City and the media.

City are forced to recover from this consecutive losses in a game where they’ll face Portuguese side Sporting, who sit in the table with the same amount of points than City, 7. In the match preview, Guardiola was asked about this bad moment, and the Spanish coach delivered a straight answer.

“I know our standards. So yeah, we lost one game in the Premier League, maybe we are going to lose against Brighton, the next against Tottenham, and Liverpool, and other games… But we lost one game. We are two points behind Liverpool, who are a top class team, we’ve done really good on the Champions League… I know that people expect us to win 38 games, and win the treble every season because this is our standards,” the coach stated.

Addressing fans’ expectations, Pep pointed out the significant injuries impacting the squad: “The reason why is more difficult because we have a lot of absences… Oscar (Bobb), the most important player during preseason is injured, and we miss him a lot, Jack (Grealish) is not still fit, and you know the situation for Rodri, the best player in the world is not here for what has happened.

Though City won’t have their Ballon d’Or winner, Guardiola welcomed the challenge. “We know that we are going to struggle. That is the point, accept that we are going to struggle, and it’s really fine. Every game will be more difficult than we have in the previous seasons,” the coach stated. “The middle class for the Premier rises unbelievable,” he added.

Bournemouth ruined Guardiola and City’s record

Reflecting on the Bournemouth game, Guardiola praised the opposition’s efforts. “In that match, Bournemouth deserve to win, by far. They were better. But that doesn’t mean we are a bad team, or we are not going to win the titles,” Guardiola stated before the Sporting match. The 2-1 loss to Bournemouth at Vitality Stadium marked two historic milestones.

Firstly, this was Bournemouth’s first-ever win over Manchester City. In their previous 16 meetings, the Sky Blues held 15 victories, and now coach Andoni Iraola achieved the Cherries’ first win in the rivalry.

Secondly, Bournemouth broke City’s unbeaten Premier League streak, ending their flawless run in 2024. City’s last league loss dated back to December 12, 2023, in a narrow 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa.