Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has admitted that it is going to be a “struggle” to win the Premier League title this season.
The reigning champions dropped to second in the table after the weekend defeat to Bournemouth and Guardiola says that the level of their opponents makes it more difficult than ever to finish top:
“We know that we are going to struggle and that is the point. Accept that we are going to struggle and it is fine. Maybe we will lose against Brighton and Tottenham [in the league] but we lost one game and we are two points behind a top-class team in Liverpool. We have done decently in the Champions League.
“Every team is now more difficult but this is the challenge. Be there and at the end we will see if we can arrive in the last month with the chance to fight for the titles.”
There is no need to panic after just one defeat
As Guardiola mentions, the Cityzens are not in crisis. Bournemouth deserved to beat them on Saturday but it was their first loss in 31 league fixtures.
They are not exactly far off the pace either, with Liverpool in touching distance, while they are already 5 points ahead of Arsenal.
A lack of squad depth is a concern for City
There were hearts in mouths when Erling Haaland seemed to pick up a knock in training on Monday, but Guardiola confirmed that the striker would be fit to face Sporting Lisbon.
With there being no backup for the Norwegian, his absence would have been a huge blow, especially with the likes of Rodri, John Stones, Jack Grealish and Ruben Dias already missing.
Even some of those who are available, such as Kevin De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku, Savinho, Nathan Ake, and Manuel Akanji, are not 100% fit, and it does raise concerns that there are not enough players to cope with all the games.
Some of the blame for that has to be pinned on Guardiola, who doesn’t like having a large first-team squad, but the decision could come back to bite him.
Find out who is in Manchester City’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here
