Bang, bang, bang. Three goals were scored by Viktor Gyökeres against Manchester City in Lisbon, resulting in three consecutive defeats for Pep Guardiola’s team. Each defeat occurred in different competitions, but all within a week. It all started in North London against Tottenham, where a heavily depleted Manchester City were eliminated early in the Carabao Cup, losing 2-1 to Spurs. Interestingly, Erling Haaland and Manuel Akanji were seen smiling after the match, seemingly unaffected by the defeat.
Things took a more worrying turn with a stumble at home against Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth. Once again, the score was 2-1, with the Cherries showing their footballing might, ending City’s unbeaten run in domestic competitions and pushing them into second place in the league table. However, the heavy defeat at the José Alvalade Stadium (4-1) really raised the alarm in the celestial champion. It’s a run of three in a row (and not in a positive way) for the Etihad team.
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“It’s disappointing because we’re going through a dark time. Everything seems to be going wrong. Even when we play well, we can’t convert our chances and concede goals easily. We need to look inside and see what we’re not doing well. We have to improve a lot quickly; otherwise, it will be very difficult for us to recover from these defeats”, Bernardo Silva told TNT Sports after the European clash.
Despite Manchester City taking an early lead in the Portuguese capital, Rúben Amorim’s Sporting CP had a resounding performance. As Silva commented after the match, “It’s football and it’s hard to find reasons for what’s happening to us, but I don’t remember this team losing three games in a row in seven and a half years. Now it looks like we’re going down the wrong path.” It is worth mentioning that a sequence like this has already occurred before, going back to 2018, when Manchester City lost three in a row — against Liverpool in the quarter-finals of the Champions League (3-0 and 1-2) and against Manchester United (2- 3) in the Premier League.
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While halting a run of 32 Premier League matches without defeat against Bournemouth, the boys in sky blue saw a historic run come to an end against the Lisbon team: the longest unbeaten run in the 26-match Champions League. However, their first defeat in the main continental competition since May 2022 and the first time they have conceded four goals in Europe since 2016 did not discourage Sampedor’s coach.
In stark contrast to Bernardo Silva’s pessimism — who also noted, “Although we lost these three games, we remain in a good position, especially in the Premier League” — Pep Guardiola’s motivation to lift his team’s spirits and turn things around seems unshakable. In his post-match press conference, the City manager stated, “More than ever, I want to elevate this team (Manchester City) and bring it back to its highest level.” Ahead, a challenging run of five matches that will test the squad’s resilience: Brighton and Tottenham in the Premier League, a fifth European outing against Feyenoord, a visit to Anfield to face Liverpool, and a clash against the surprise Premier League side , Nottingham Forest.
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