Manchester Misery: City Drop Points Again
After a 1-1 draw at home against Everton today, Manchester City have dropped points in the Premier League title race once again. Currently, after 18 completed matches, the team sits tied for seventh on the table, four points away from fourth place. The team’s six losses already mark double their entire loss total from last season. While a fifth straight Premier League title looks to be out of reach, Pep Guardiola will hope to lead the team to a top-four finish in order to ensure Champions League qualification for next season. While 20 matches still remain, the current form of the team suggests that they may continue to plummet further down in the league standings.
Manchester City’s draw against 15th-place Everton this afternoon earns them their first point in their last three Premier League matches. In their last 13 matches in all competitions, Pep Guardiola’s side has only managed one win and three draws, leaving the team with nine losses in that span. While tied for seventh in the Premier League, Manchester City sits in 22nd out of 36 teams in the Champions League. While injuries are certainly to blame for Manchester City’s struggles, many have still expected the team to perform much better. In their last 13 matches, the team has scored only 15 goals and has scored three goals or more twice. One of these matches was a 3-3 draw in the Champions League versus Dutch side Feyenoord, a match in which Manchester City was leading 3-0 until they fell apart in the final 16 minutes of the match. The defense has certainly been a problem, as the team is tied for eighth in goals conceded while also ranking dead last in tackles, 26 tackles behind 19th-placed Ipswich Town. The team is also ranked last in clearances and interceptions and ranks 19th out of 20 teams in blocks. While an argument can be made that poor defensive counting stats are due to the fact that Manchester City leads the Premier League with a 62.5% possession rate, their rate of possession has not stopped defensive mistakes and has certainly not resulted in more goals. Injuries to midfielders Rodri and Mateo Kovačić have not only worsened defensive performance but have also decreased offensive output from players like Erling Haaland and Phil Foden.
With plenty of struggles so far this season and a bounce-back unlikely, this will mark a bitter conclusion to one of the most dominant runs in history. Over the last eight seasons, the team has won seven Premier League titles, including the last five and their first-ever Champions League title in 2023. Since the 2017-18 season, the team has made the Quarterfinals in every Champions League season, including two finals appearances as well as a Semifinals appearance. Last season alone, Manchester City only lost nine times in 108 matches in all competitions, but this season, the team has lost nine times in 27 matches. As half the season remains and the January transfer window approaches, Manchester City is expected to bounce back after getting reinforcements soon. With that being said, their streak of at least 26 Premier League victories in each of the last seven seasons seems to be all but lost, as the team will need to win 18 out of their final 20 league matches for it to remain intact.
