Pep Guardiola remains confident that Manchester City will recover their form despite a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday, marking their ninth loss in 12 games across all competitions.
Jhon Duran opened the scoring early for Villa, with Morgan Rogers adding a second goal in the 65th minute. Phil Foden’s late strike for City came too late to salvage the game, as Villa leapfrogged the reigning champions to claim fifth place in the Premier League table.
The loss extends the worst run of Guardiola’s storied managerial career. Speaking to TNT Sports, the City boss expressed faith in his team’s ability to recover: “Step by step, we have nice personalities in the team and sooner or later we are going to find it.”
Guardiola also commended Villa’s manager Unai Emery, saying: “Congratulations to Aston Villa and keep going. In the mid-block, they are so strong. We had good moments and more chances than against United, but in the second half, our pressing wasn’t good enough. We found a goal in the end, but it was too late.”
City’s struggles have been compounded by the recent dip in form of Erling Haaland, who has scored just once in his last six games. The Norwegian striker admitted his disappointment: “It’s not good enough, it’s not good enough from me. I haven’t been scoring my chances. I have to do better.”
Despite the setbacks, Haaland expressed unwavering support for Guardiola, citing his incredible track record: “He’s won the Premier League six times in seven years. We still believe in him, and he will find the solutions. We just have to work harder than ever right now.”
Manchester City, who have dominated English football in recent years, will be looking to turn their fortunes around as the season progresses.
