Peter Crouch has suggested that Manchester City’s Treble win has led to the players being mentally exhausted this season.
Having ended their previous season having won the Premier League, FA Cup and their first Champions League title, the Citizens currently find themselves five points behind Arsenal at the top of the league table.
Their previous league outing saw them blow a 2-0 lead at home against Crystal Palace to draw 2-2, which has since led to questions being raised about Pep Guardiola’s side and their chances of making history by winning a fourth Premier League title in a row.
In fact, one pundit and former top-flight player has shared his theory about why City’s levels may have dropped from their previous campaign.
Crouch claims City are mentally drained from Treble win
Speaking in a recent episode of The Peter Crouch Podcast, the former England striker had this to say when asked if City’s dip in form could be down to them being mentally fatigued after winning the Treble last season.
He said: “No team has done four, have they? And this is one of the best teams we’ve ever seen. I think mentally but if you go and win a Treble and enjoy it, like I’m sure they all did, to come back and go ‘right, let’s go again,’ [is mentally draining].”
With 17 league games played, the Manchester club have won 10, drawn four and lost three, scoring 40 goals and conceding 20 along the way.
Bearing in mind how the Citizens only dropped points on six occasions before they won the league title last season and they have done so seven times in this campaign, this showcases how much of a dip there has been.
However, with the Blues having to deal with injuries to the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, John Stones and Erling Haaland at points this time around, as well as having Rodri missing for some games due to suspension, this shows why they may not have been at their best at certain periods.
Taking that into account and the significant changes to the squad that were made during the previous summer transfer window, added on to the potential fatigue the players could have mentally as Crouch suggested, it’s easy to see why City have not kept their levels up from last season.
