Manchester City's defensive woes have Pep Guardiola in unchartered territory.
The defending English champions are coming off a 5–1 thrashing at the Emirates in which City conceded four goals in the second half. In fact, the game marks the first time City let in five goals in an away Premier League match since their 8–1 loss to Middlesbrough in 2008.
The defeat also marked a new low for Guardiola. Manchester City have now conceded four or more goals in a game for the fourth time this season, the most in a single campaign in Guardiola's managerial career.
In the 2024–25 season alone, City conceded four goals to Sporting CP, Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain. Just when it looked like City's defensive efforts could not get worse, they conceded five to Arsenal.
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Pep Guardiola Reaches Career Worst Milestone With Manchester City
Many of City's issues stem from injuries. There is a Ballon d'Or-sized hole missing from Guardiola's lineup in Rodri. Perhaps the best argument for the Spaniard's win is how City have performed in his absence.
Rúben Dias, Nathan Aké, Manuel Akanji, Joško Gvardiol and John Stones have all also missed time this season due to injury, leaving Guardiola with extremely thin options at the back. Kyle Walker also struggled when called upon and received a lot of blame from the City fanbase, likely contributing to the England international's exit to AC Milan.
Guardiola tried to find solutions for City's problems in the January transfer window, but Abdukodir Khusanov had a nightmare start to his time in a blue shirt against Chelsea and has not played since. 19-year-old Vitor Reis, meanwhile, has yet to make his debut.
With matches against Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Liverpool and Tottenham all coming in February, the pressure will be on Guardiola to figure out a quick solution to City's defensive woes. If he cannot get the best out of his men, then he just might have more negative milestones coming in the near future.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Pep Guardiola Reaches Career Worst Milestone With Manchester City.
