Manchester City are currently in relegation form with little sign of it ending.
Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Aston Villa For Company only their form in the last eight games with Southampton has left them joint bottom of the table.
Saints, at the foot of the Premier League, have the same number of points as City, four, City have won one, drawn one and lost six of their last eight games – the same record as the floundering champions.
And if Southampton – Who appointed Ivan Juric as their new manager on Saturday – Get at least a point at Fulham on Sunday, City will have the worst run in the division.
even wolves, who sacked boss Gary O’Neill last Sunday and replaced him with Vitor Pereira, Earned twice as many points by playing one game less at the same time.
They are damaging figures for Pep Guardiola, even if he has some mitigating circumstances with injuries to Ederson, Nathan Ake and Ruben Diaz – who all missed the defeat at Villa Park – and Long-term loss of midfield powerhouse Rodri.
Guardiola was happy with Saturday’s performance despite the defeat at Birmingham, but is not relieved to have slipped further from the title race.
He may need to field half-fit Manuel Akanji and John Stones at Villa Park but that doesn’t consider City looking a shadow of their former selves.
That doesn’t justify the error of Josko Guardiol or £100 million man Jack Grealish failing to make an impact in a game again, gifting John Duran a golden chance within the first 20 seconds.
There may have been valid reasons for City’s drop off, be it injury, mental exhaustion or simply a team coming to the end of its life cycle, but their form, which has plunged off a cliff, has been unimaginable as they walk. Fourth consecutive title last season.
“The worrying thing is the number of goals conceded,” said former England captain Alan Shearer on BBC Match of the Day.
“The number of times they opened up was surprising because of the lack of defense and legs in midfield. There are so many things wrong at the moment.”
