Man City are ‘fragile’ - as Tottenham humiliation reveals reality for Pep Guardiola

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For Manchester City and Pep Guardiola, the phrase "five in a row" has taken on a new significance. Initially, it represented their goal of winning an unprecedented fifth English title in a row. However, the current context highlights a different, notable milestone. Guardiola is experiencing his worst streak yet, having lost five matches in a row, with both ends of this unfortunate run marked by defeats to Tottenham Hotspur.

The initial loss had the City team feeling troubled, but Guardiola seemed unfazed by their exit from the Carabao Cup. However, the most recent defeat was marked by a greater intensity, drama, and disappointment – it was a real shocker. This match turned out to be one of Guardiola’s worst losses and left him in a very awkward position. The team might end up eight points behind Liverpool on Sunday, and if they don't perform well at Anfield next week, they could find themselves 11 points back. Guardiola admitted that such a gap would be incredibly difficult to overcome.

"Having been here for eight years, I always expected that we would eventually take a downturn," he remarked. However, he didn't anticipate it happening so quickly or so severely. While empires can fall unexpectedly and with great impact, City was meant to be more resilient. What started as a night of joy quickly turned into one of embarrassment and surrender. The excitement from Guardiola's announcement about his new contract, which would keep him with the club until 2027, faded away in just about 12 minutes of play.

The flashy ceremony of handing the Ballon d’Or to Rodri highlighted just how much City is lacking their key player due to injury. Suffering their third consecutive league loss revealed a recurring weakness in the team. They were frequently exposed on counter-attacks and struggled defensively. A side lacking a strong defensive midfielder fell to one with a highly effective attacking playmaker.

While the Spaniard watched from the stands, the standout performer was James Maddison. It's possible that a healthy Rodri could have stopped him from scoring twice in just seven minutes; Maddison found himself wide open for each goal and took them exceptionally well. The returning and revitalized Englishman stole the spotlight from both the City manager and the award recipient. He once famously remarked that when he goes out for a roast dinner with his family, he wants to be the star of the show.

He transformed this evening into a celebration for his 28th birthday. “It was an ideal night for him,” commented Ange Postecoglou. Maddison had been sidelined for a large part of the past month. This was truly a remarkable return.

For City, it was a significant disappointment. They welcomed back some defenders from injury, yet still struggled to maintain a solid defense in the absence of Rodri. Guardiola commented, “Right now, we are defensively vulnerable.” The idea that their recent defeats could be linked to uncertainty surrounding Guardiola’s future was quickly dismissed. Instead, they appeared to be an aging team, overly prone to counterattacks, with Guardiola searching for answers. He initially opted for a setup reminiscent of Dyche's style, using a 4-4-1-1 formation, and experimented with three different players on the left wing. Despite registering around 23 shots, City failed to find the net against a Spurs side missing their top center-backs. Ultimately, Guardiola faced his first league loss at home in over two years.

Tottenham has firmly established themselves as one of the most puzzling teams in the league. They pulled off an impressive double against Manchester teams: after winning 3-0 at Old Trafford, they topped that performance with a victory at the Etihad. However, they had just suffered a loss at home to Ipswich. While Angeball can be quirky at times, nights like this showcase its brilliance for Tottenham.

“Today was focused on reinforcing our footballing principles,” Postecoglou expressed, feeling justified. “City challenges you in every aspect of the game. You need to cover all bases: defend, put in the effort, maintain discipline, and execute the game plan, and we really excelled in all those areas.” This was arguably his best hour-and-a-half as Spurs manager, and he remarked, “They have an incredible home record. It’s not something to take lightly.”

Postecoglou made some brilliant choices. He reintroduced the sidelined Maddison, who ended up scoring two goals. He shifted Dejan Kulusevski, his standout player of the season, from midfield to the right wing, and he excelled in that role. Although he benched his leading scorer, Brennan Johnson, he later brought him on to net the fourth goal.

Initially, Maddison made a sneaky run behind John Stones, who was returning to play, and expertly volleyed in Kulusevski’s cross. Next, he skillfully lifted a shot over Ederson after a quick exchange of passes with Son Heung Min. For Josko Gvardiol, it was a match of contrasts; he stepped back to let Kulusevski deliver the cross for the opening goal and accidentally set up Maddison during the play leading to the second goal. Gvardiol was also a key player for City, especially on the left side, where he created eight opportunities. He was playing the role of both City’s top attacker and its most vulnerable defender at the same time.

This made some of City's attempts seem quite insignificant in the end. Erling Haaland faced off against Tottenham's defenders, Radu Draguson and Ben Davies, and had a couple of shots before Maddison scored, as well as another great opportunity right after his second goal. One shot was deflected wide by Davies, another was expertly saved by Guglielmo Vicario, and one shot went well over the bar. He even managed to send a curling shot off the post from a tight angle. Vicario also pulled off an impressive save from Ilkay Gundogan. Tottenham did their job defensively, while City struggled to hold their ground when the roles were reversed.

For the second game in a row, Guardiola was met with chants of “sacked in the morning.” He didn’t require a new contract to understand that this outcome is unlikely. However, the first manager to clinch four consecutive English titles is now the first City manager since Stuart Pearce to suffer five straight defeats. For Guardiola, this is a record he would rather forget.