Manchester City must reset and refocus during the international break, returning with fresh energy and health, said manager Pep Guardiola following their 2-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion. This loss marked City’s fourth consecutive defeat, a streak the club has not seen since August 2006. For Guardiola, who has achieved great success throughout his career, this is the first time he’s endured four straight losses.
City’s struggles are compounded by injuries to key players. On Saturday, they played without Nathan Ake, John Stones, Jack Grealish, and Ruben Dias, alongside longer-term absentees Rodri and Oscar Bobb.
“Of course, it’s November, we are not far away (from rival teams) in this position before the international break,” said Guardiola. “The key to winning games is the people come back fit, the people come back and can play, can train, and then improve our results.”
He emphasized the need for the team to “clear our heads” over the break, adding, “The success that they had the last seasons was because we had fewer injuries. I would like the players to be consistent and able to play at the level we played in the first half.”
Erling Haaland gave City an early lead in the 23rd minute and narrowly missed on other occasions. However, despite City’s five shots on target in the first half, Brighton rallied in the second. Joao Pedro and Matt O’Riley, a Premier League debutant, scored, securing an impressive win for the Seagulls against the reigning champions.
“So the first half we should, not open the game, it was open, but have the control, and we could not, and we are not at the level right now to sustain 90 minutes,” Guardiola explained. He admitted, “In the first half, we were brilliant, but in the second half sometimes fatigue kicks in, they make changes and change the pace, and we cannot do it right now. We lost the game.”
City’s tough streak includes defeats to Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup, Bournemouth in the league, and a 4-1 loss to Sporting in the Champions League, which Bernardo Silva described as putting City in a “dark place.”
“It’s down to us as a group of players to make sure that we’re fighting for this great club,” captain Kyle Walker told Sky Sports. “It’s tough to take, and I can assure you everyone wants to turn it around as quickly as possible.”
Guardiola’s previous worst stretch was with Bayern Munich in the 2014-15 season, when they endured three straight losses and a penalty shootout defeat in the German Cup.
