Why Man City fans shouldn’t panic despite worst run for six years as JACK GAUGHAN reveals a crucial team summit, the reason the squad looks ‘pretty tired’ and why the champions are primed for another late-season surge

Like clockwork, Manchester City got stuck in the mud at the beginning of November.

It happens almost every year. And almost every year the others spend months chatting, before Pep Guardiola grins in May holding a trophy with a sky-blue ribbon.

So while three defeats in seven days – all in separate competitions and their first losing streak since 2018 – will cause some disquiet around the Etihad Stadium, writing off City would be an exercise in folly.

It would be tantamount to ignoring everything that has happened under this extraordinary manager, whose genius is finding tactical solutions in the middle of the season to deal with new problems. He’s done it again and again and only a fool would bet on him doing it again.

But hearing Bernardo Silva confess that City are in a ‘dark situation’ after their dismal 4-1 deficit to Sporting at the hands of Manchester United’s new manager suggests the team needs a jolt. They desperately need this month’s international break and still have to negotiate a trip to Brighton.

There are problems at the moment and City are hoping a break can alleviate them.

Although Guardiola has complained about the injury list – which briefly stood at nine last week, leaving just 11 senior outfield players available – Guardiola has chosen not to take numerous opportunities to use general fitness as an excuse.

There were fears in the summer that the lack of preparation as a team – and therefore meaningful fitness for those given a month off after the international tournaments – would again affect City in the autumn. In August and September, players worked on the adrenaline of being back, but the core fitness needed to play three games a week had not yet been built up.

Guardiola could have recalled his internationals – such as Phil Foden, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Rodri and Savinho – after a mandatory three-week holiday, but remained committed to longer breaks, which have proven positive in conserving energy later in seasons. According to FIFPro, the global football trade union, six of the top ten players in the world, who have played an average of 60 or more games per year since 2018, are in City’s squad.

What Guardiola cannot legislate for is Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, who is nursing a double knee injury, and preseason star Oscar Bobb – who would get the nod at right wing, giving Savinho a chance. acclimatization period – suffering from a leg fracture.

Kevin De Bruyne played just 439 minutes in all competitions, Walker only 43 minutes more. Nathan Ake is at 252.

Jack Grealish and Stones, along with Jeremy Doku, have all had spells. Foden is now coming to the fore after a stop-start start to the campaign, largely due to illness.

The burden on others has therefore been felt too heavily. Four players – Rico Lewis, Erling Haaland, Josko Gvardiol and Manuel Akanji – are all expected to reach 4,000 minutes for the season if they continue at this pace.

For context, only two outfield stars, Haaland and Rodri, reached those numbers in the Treble season.

When asked if everyone available is fully fit, Guardiola says yes.

But a club source said yesterday: ‘Everyone looks quite tired.’

Guardiola has said City would not expend too much energy on the Carabao Cup and the joviality among the substitutes when they lost to Tottenham last week confirmed that.

That draw could have gone either way, while last weekend’s performance at Bournemouth fell well below City’s normal standards, with a 2-1 defeat.

A team meeting followed on Sunday at the training ground, described as a lengthy debriefing, where opinions on performances were aired.

Then came Sporting in the Champions League, a night in which they were open defensively and a general Rodri-shaped hole emerged in central midfield that affects everything City try to do.

The ability to cover ground seems to be lacking, while an inaccuracy on the ball has become noticeable. The returning Ilkay Gundogan was particularly loose in the final third, in the sort of moments where he has always thrived before, but he is certainly not the only one to blame.

Some senior players would have been on the training ground with their heads down in recent weeks after the scare against Fulham and Wolves – even though they both ended in wins – and the somewhat hard work it took to beat Southampton 1-0. Yet they remain just two points off the top of the Premier League, in a competition that was not that important and is still well positioned in Europe.

Guardiola, known for publicly shielding his players, appeared irritated by questions about their form earlier this week, claiming the team is playing well. He also deeply disagreed with Silva’s claim that he was in a dark place, although the last two defeats gently hinted that some could live on past glories. When asked if everyone gave everything for the cause, he replied: “Yes.”

The wisdom has always been that the manager will decide his future this month (he signed his last two contract extensions in November) and a strong response to that could come in handy going forward.

Meanwhile, Silva made a striking point during his interview as he left the pitch in Lisbon, where he basically said scoring goals was becoming a tough task. That they had to make extra efforts to find the net.

The opposition’s low blocks are more refined than ever and without that spark in midfield – the kind of spark that De Bruyne and a fully fit Foden provide – good, clear chances are harder to develop.

Although he missed some decent chances, including the penalty that hit the crossbar on Tuesday, Haaland has 14 goals, which is comparable to his expected goals figures and is performing better in the league.

There is a huge gap with a cluster of others, all on three: Gvardiol, Kovacic, Foden, Stones and Matheus Nunes. Although they look dangerous, the wingers need to contribute more numerically and the lack of a runner in midfield outside of Haaland is notable.

Guardiola won’t panic but has plenty to think about.