Pep Guardiola says he 'smelt' Man City's struggles coming and admits they won't be 'back' until next season

It has been a nightmare journey for the reigning English champions in the 2024-25 campaign, as they trail league leaders Liverpool by 12 points and are on the brink of elimination from the Champions League after their latest disastrous performance against Paris Saint-Germain. City's upcoming six Premier League fixtures are against the current top six teams and an away fixture at Tottenham, and Guardiola claimed the club's main aim will be to finish the season among the top four teams.

Speaking to reporters, Guardiola said: "Before, a team never made man-marking against us. I remember everyone came here to the Etihad and stayed back. The first team I saw man-marking was Neil Warnock at Cardiff. And after, (Gian Piero) Gasperini with Atalanta. Now everyone does it. Everyone comes here, it doesn’t matter, man to man. They just jump to Ederson or Stefan (Ortega). You have to adapt, do it better, otherwise you are not qualifying for the Champions League.

"We have to pass the ball more. We want to run too quick, make the actions without our composure. If you have the ball and don’t pass properly to your mate, everything is so difficult. You lose balls that normally didn’t happen in the past and you have to run more, more duels and we’re not great at that. Look at the team: Savinho, Doku, Kevin, even Phil and Gundo right now. Any team in the 20 in the Premier League is better than us with that."

He added: "Three months ago, I smelt that this season we are going to suffer and it has happened and it is going to happen. When you said, 'after Ipswich Town, they’re back' or 'against Leicester, they’re back', it takes time, still. Next season we will be back, really. Now it is a question to survive, to qualify."

Referring to former Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho's words, Guardiola said: "There are seasons where there are a lot of difficulties. How do you stand up? I remember Jose, I don't know the reality of United, but he said many times that finishing second in that season was the biggest success. I understand completely. When Rodri is here, when also defenders are here, when many players are out there playing, we will fight."

The Cityzens will be back in action on Saturday as they host Chelsea in a crucial Premier League clash at the Etihad Stadium.