Manchester City endured a very poor November, failing to pick up a single Premier League point or win a game in any competition.
Today, Manchester City go to Anfield to take on a Liverpool side that is absolutely flying right now under Arne Slot.
Few would have expected the Reds to do this well after Jurgen Klopp left in the summer. But they have been near-faultless, and City have a huge task today to get back on track.
City are six games without a win right now, and just let slip a three-goal lead against Feyenoord in the Champions League.
That 3-3 draw really felt like another defeat given the nature of the capitulation, and it’s clear that something really isn’t right at the moment. Pep Guardiola admitted after that Man City are just ‘not stable’ right now.
Pep Guardiola has been speaking about his side’s current form, and shared something he said to chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak.
Guardiola says he asked Khaldoon for chance to turn things around at Man City
Guardiol has been an absolute revelation at Manchester City since arriving at the club in the summer of 2016.
He’s delivered titles regularly, and got City playing some of the best football we’ve ever seen in English football.
For many, he’s one of the greatest managers of all-time. But Guardiola doesn’t feel his past achievements make him exempt from pressure.
Speaking about his recent contract extension, and sharing details of a conversation he recently had with Khaldoon Al-Mubarak, he said (via mancity.com): “Here’s the same, I extend because I feel it, I’m not sitting here just for what I’ve done, it’s because still I’m happy and I want to try.
“But the moment it’s going to happen, I don’t want to stay in a place where I feel I’m a problem, I don’t stay just because a contract is there.
“My Chairman knows it, I said to him give me the chance to try and come back and especially when everyone comes back let’s see what happens.
“After if it’s not good we have to change. I never ask my hierarchy to stay, but more than ever I ask them to give me the chance.
“I have the feeling that I still have a job to do, and I want to do it.”
Humble Pep surely won’t ever be sacked by Man City
It’s interesting to hear these remarks from Guardiola.
They suggest he is actually feeling the pressure right now. For him to say he’s asked Khaldoon for the chance to turn things around shows humility, and that he doesn’t necessarily think his past achievements are relevant.
| Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City record |
| Games managed – 492 |
| Wins – 360 |
| Draws – 61 |
| Losses – 71 |
| Goals scored – 1242 |
| Goals conceded – 453 |
| Trophies won – 18 |
But they certainly are, and it’s hard to imagine the City board ever arriving at the conclusion that Guardiola needs to be sacked.
They’ve just handed him a new contract which shows they are more than happy with him as Manchester City manager.
Ultimately, there’s been a lot of bad luck this season so far. Guardiola will get City out of this rut eventually.
