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Pep Guardiola remains optimistic that Manchester City will rediscover their championship-winning form, attributing their recent dip in performance to the absence of key players. The manager expressed confidence that, with a fully fit squad, his team can regain the dominance that has defined their success in recent seasons.
The reigning Premier League champions, Manchester City, find themselves in an unusual position, having lost six of their last seven matches across all competitions. This slump has left them trailing Liverpool by 11 points in the race for the English top-flight title.
For a team that has claimed six of the last seven Premier League titles, including the last four consecutively, Manchester City’s current slump is nothing short of remarkable. However, manager Pep Guardiola, speaking ahead of their Wednesday clash with Nottingham Forest, reassured fans during a pre-match press conference that the downturn is far from permanent.
This season has been a test of resilience for Manchester City, with injuries taking a heavy toll on the squad. The loss of Ballon d’Or winner Rodri for the remainder of the campaign stands out as a particularly crushing blow, compounded by setbacks to stalwarts like Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish, Kevin De Bruyne, Mateo Kovacic, and Ruben Dias.
“With all the squad this season, we’ll be close to the level that we reached last season,” he said on Tuesday.
The club have been beset by injury problems this season, most notably the loss of Ballon d’Or winner Rodri for the rest of the campaign. A number of other key players have spent time in the treatment room including Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish, Kevin De Bruyne, Mateo Kovacic and Ruben Dias.
Guardiola described City as “magnificent” at Liverpool on Sunday despite their 2-0 defeat.
Read also: Why I Signed A New Extended Man City Contract – Guardiola
“I would say we are not far away from the team second in the Premier League (City are two points behind Arsenal),” he said.
“But always it’s the way you play, the consistency you have in the boxes, and many things that give you the positive thoughts of what is going to happen in future.”
Guardiola said the club would talk “internally” over whether they would bolster the squad in next month’s transfer window.
And he confirmed that Ederson remained his number one goalkeeper after he was dropped for the Liverpool match in favour of understudy Stefan Ortega following a mistake in last week’s 3-3 draw against Feyenoord.
He said the Brazilian had reacted well to his decision.
“Ederson number one, Stefan number two,” he said. “But maybe Stefan continues. We’ll see tomorrow and the next games.”
Guardiola called on City’s fans to help lift the team against Forest, who are sixth in the table, a point behind his men.
“Many, many good moments we’ve lived together,” he said. “They know that we need absolute support because all of us, the players especially, are human beings.”
