MANCHESTER (AFP) – Manchester City’s malaise leaves the English champions in the unusual position of fretting over qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League ahead of a tricky trip to Italian giants Juventus.
City have won just once in their past nine games in all competitions, with an injury crisis and a loss of form for some of their biggest stars leading to the worst run of Pep Guardiola’s managerial career.
Despite a 4-1 humbling by Sporting Lisbon and an embarrassing collapse from 3-0 up to draw 3-3 against Feyenoord, they are still in a position to qualify from the new league-phase format.
They sit 17th in the 36-team table, with a top-24 finish enough to secure a place in the playoff round at the least.
However, their chances of direct entry to the last 16 by finishing in the top eight look slim, with another difficult trip to Paris Saint-Germain to come in January before a home game against Club Brugge.
The Champions League is even more significant for City this season with their Premier League title defence seemingly in tatters.
After an unprecedented four consecutive English top-flight titles, the champions, in fourth place, trail Liverpool by eight points and Arne Slot’s men also have a game in hand.
City have often hit top form down the home straight to win the league during Guardiola’s six title successes in the past seven seasons.
This time the mood music around the Etihad is different, with injuries among an ageing squad taking a heavy toll.
“The season starts difficult, it will be difficult all season,” said Guardiola after his side’s latest stumble in a 2-2 draw at Crystal Palace on Saturday.
“We have to survive the season, every game, try to take points, to try to win games and go forward.”
Ballon d’Or winner Rodri is the biggest miss and is unlikely to return again this season after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury in September.
John Stones, Nathan Ake, Mateo Kovacic and Oscar Bobb are also sidelined for the trip to Turin, while Kevin De Bruyne, Ruben Dias and Phil Foden are among the big names to have missed significant chunks of the campaign so far. “If the squad is this short then it is always so difficult for all the players to play three days after three days,” said midfielder Bernardo Silva.
“With a squad of 20 players, if you only have 13 available, it is not good enough.”
City have little time to lick their wounds, with 12 games in 50 days between the Juventus clash and the end of the league phase on January 29.
“The doctors and physios are working incredible this season like never before I have ever seen but the reality is we have few players to rotate in this period,” said Guardiola.
“This season will be like this. Don’t feel sorry, accept the challenge and maybe at the end we will have more satisfaction about the way we behave than in other seasons when we won the titles.”
The hope for City is that they could yet be Champions League contenders if their medical room empties and they find their customary form come the decisive spell of the season in the spring.
Just one win from their final three games will almost certainly guarantee qualification.