Manchester City had a strong start to their 2024/25 season.
Specifically, City made it to mid-October with an impressive unbeaten streak across all competitions.
However, their three previous games have all ended in defeats, making it the first time City have lost three in a row since 2018.
Their latest match saw Pep Guardiola’s side lose 4-1 to Ruben Amorim’s Sporting CP team in the Champions League.
After the game, Bernardo Silva discussed City’s poor form, claiming that they are currently in a “dark place” in terms of their performances and results.
With the Blues in somewhat of a rut at the moment, a pundit has made a suggestion about what Guardiola may need to do to fix his side’s fortunes, although raised doubts over the Catalan’s ability to do so.
Steve Nicol questions Pep Guardiola over Man City tactical switch
After seeing City lose their last three matches and deal with a hefty injury list in doing so, Steve Nicol said this in a recent ESPN FC YouTube video about what Guardiola should look to do tactically to get his side back on track.
He said: “You’ve got to adapt to what you have. If you’ve got everybody fit, you’re picking from a squad of 20 it’s dead easy to go and play the way you want to play.
“When you’ve got injuries, you’ve got confidence problems, you’re struggling, you’re letting in too many goals, then you got to adapt to what you have and if that means that you sit a little tighter then does Pep have the wherewithal to do that because he’s never had to do it ever in his life.”
Bernardo Silva said Ruben Dias is a big miss for City
As Nicol mentioned, City have a number of players out injured and have done for the past couple of weeks.
One, in particular, is Ruben Dias, who missed City’s 2-1 defeat against Bournemouth in the Premier League and the recent loss in Portugal.
Prior to the Sporting defeat, Silva discussed Dias’ absence, saying this about the defender and what he offers the team on and off the pitch.
He said: “He’s my best friend in the team, someone I get along with really well, and even though he’s a bit younger than me, we still shared some moments at Benfica when we were there.
“And he’s a leader – that’s the word that best defines him. He’s a bit intense in the way that he works, sometimes a bit too much for me, but that shows his passion for the game.
“Focus, always connected to the game, body language, everything that you expect a proper defender to have, he’s got everything.
“Apart from that, the importance that he’s got on the dressing room is massive because of him being so loud. We miss him.”
Even though City haven’t lost three games in a row since April 2018, Guardiola has the experience and knowledge to get his side back to where they want to be without having to compromise his tactical beliefs and methods.
