- Five points below leaders Arsenal
- Needed reset after years of success
- Face Manchester United on Saturday
WHAT HAPPENED? City are currently second in the Premier League, five points below leaders Arsenal, and have crashed out of the Carabao Cup after losing to Southampton, but Guardiola claims that he anticipated the team's struggles at the start of the campaign as he felt they needed to reset after winning four leagues titles in the past five years. The Catalan tactician was responding to midfielder Ilkay Gundogan's suggestion that something was 'off' and that there had been a lack of 'desire' of late.
WHAT THEY SAID: Speaking to reporters, Guardiola said: "What happened didn't surprise me. I tried to avoid it. It happened and hopefully, it won't happen again but it's happened because we did four Premier Leagues in five years. Sometimes you have to reset.
"This was our strength as a team in previous seasons but after back-to-back (titles) two times, this can happen. We were not ready to go there and be ourselves. I'm not talking about winning the Carabao Cup or winning games (now), it's about being ourselves and behaving how we have to do in every single game.
"I was a little bit concerned at the beginning of the season that this could happen, and unfortunately it happened. I don't know if it will happen again but there are no concerns about it at all."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Manchester City have dropped four points in their last five Premier League matches, including a defeat to Brentford and a draw against relegation-threatened Everton.
Next Match
IN THREE PHOTOS:
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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER CITY? Guardiola's men next face rivals Manchester United in a crucial derby on Saturday - the perfect opportunity to kick-start their season.
