What is going wrong at Manchester City?

Manchester City suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat at home to Tottenham Hotspur in Gameweek 12 of the Premier League, marking their fifth consecutive loss across all competitions. This is uncharted territory for Pep Guardiola’s side, which has typically been known for long winning streaks. The team’s current struggles go beyond just the five straight defeats; they have noticeably failed to replicate the dominant form they displayed in the last so many seasons, raising concerns about their overall performance, team cohesion and depth.

Let’s take a look at few talking points which could be the reason for them not being their usual ruthless self – 

Long-term injuries to key players

Manchester City lost Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne to long-term injuries earlier this season. While Rodri suffered a season ending ACL injury against Arsenal at the Etihad, De Bruyne suffered a groin injury against Inter Milan and has been sidelined for two months only starting to comeback in cameos and still not looking at his best. With their star defender Rúben Dias and midfielder Mateo Kova?i? missing with injuries as well, they have had to play a changed starting lineup whose defensive fragilities have been exposed. Even though all teams go through injuries in the course of the season, world class players like Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne and Dias missing from the lineup will always affect the team’s style of play as they have contributed heavily to City’s success. For context, John Stones, a big performer in central defense has started seven Premier League games so far, while Nathan Aké has also missed a number of games due to injury. City’s young talented winger Oscar Bobb who was going to have a breakthrough season also suffered an unfortunate injury at the start of the season sidelined for a long time with a broken leg. 

Leaky defense conceding goals every game

Manchester City’s woeful losing streak can’t be attributed to only injuries as other teams have lost key players to injuries and are still playing considerably well. The once strong and robust defense has leaked goals at a baffling rate. For context, Manchester City have conceded 15 goals in their last five encounters against Spurs, Sporting CP, Bournemouth, Brighton and Spurs again. The current struggles of Manchester City’s midfield and defense are evident in their recent performances. Players like Mateo Kova?i? and ?lkay Gündo?an have failed to provide adequate protection to the defense, while Kyle Walker, once known for his exceptional pace, is being easily outpaced and bypassed by younger, more energetic wingers. Additionally, the team appears overly reliant on Rodri to singlehandedly resolve defensive issues, highlighting a potential weakness in a squad that is otherwise considered high-quality. These results have raised serious concerns about the team’s balance and depth.

Over dependence on Erling Haaland to provide the goals 

City have been overly dependent on star forward Erling Haaland to provide the goals this season while the other players in the forward line and midfield are hardly supporting the team with goals in crucial moments. Haaland has contributed 12 goals out of City’s 22 goals in the league this season which means he is the major contributor with almost 55% of City’s goals. In comparison, Wingers Foden and Savinho have only added one goal. Even the midfielders have kept quiet with the trio of Bernardo Silva, Kova?i? and Gundogan adding a measly three goals having played almost all games. 

Pep Guardiola’s team has struggled to score goals recently, failing to replicate their previous dominance over opposition defenses. In the past, their midfielders often contributed crucial goals, but this is no longer the case. They have also struggled to find a consistent left-sided goal-scoring winger, with players like Jérémy Doku and Jack Grealish showing promise in attack but not consistently shouldering the scoring burden alongside Erling Haaland. Savinho has been a standout player for them so far but again has hardly contributed with goals. Additionally, last season’s Player of the Year, Phil Foden has been in poor form, further hindering their offensive output.

Poor performance in the summer transfer window

City have been the masters of the transfer window in recent years, with the £52 million signing of Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund in summer 2022 arguably the best business done by any club in the Premier League. But Guardiola’s squad was weaker at the start of this season having shockingly let go of Julian Alvarez in the summer without an able replacement. 

City only got an ageing Ilkay Gündogan back from Barcelona and winger Savinho in this summer transfer window. They have older players in the squad with Kevin De Bruyne spending a long part of the season off the pitch with frequent injuries, Kyle Walker who has visibly lost his pace and consistently being run over by fast opposition wingers and Kova?i? who isn’t as mobile and only a stop gap option. Manchester City have definitely missed a trick in the summer transfer window failing to identify young energetic midfield and defensive options. They also sold potential squad players like Liam Delap, João Cancelo and Kalvin Phillips who could have acted as decent squad options.