Manchester City’s dreadful slump rolled on with a 2-1 defeat to fierce rivals Manchester United at the Etihad, and Pep Guardiola has pointed the finger at who’s to blame.
Pep Guardiola has taken full responsibility for Manchester City’s shocking collapse over the weekend.
The reigning Premier League champions suffered another setback on Sunday, losing to archrivals Manchester United. City started strong with Josko Gvardiol’s header, but a late penalty from United captain Bruno Fernandes following Matheus Nunes’ clumsy foul on Amad
turned the tide.
The Ivorian sealed the win for United with a late strike, handing City their eighth defeat in 11 games across all competitions.
After the final whistle, Pep Guardiola refused to blame his players, instead taking full responsibility for City’s latest setback. He admitted, ‘Not much to say. No defence—they were incredibly persistent. We haven’t lost eight games in two seasons. We can’t defend that. It’s not about this or that player.
We conceded goals—it’s on us. We lacked composure. The results aren’t good, and the performance wasn’t great. I understand the situation, but this is the reality.
“The players need to know these moments happen. Inside the box, we must be more careful. It’s not about Matheus [Nunes]; he performed well out of position at full-back. But it’s bigger than that—we need to play better. Results will boost us, but right now, we don’t have that momentum. The only way forward is to keep pushing.
“I’m not doing enough. I’m the coach, the leader—it’s my job to find solutions, and so far, I haven’t. That’s the truth. We want to play better and create more chances, but right now, we’re struggling.”
City’s latest setback leaves their title defense in ruins. They sit fifth in the table, already nine points behind Liverpool, who have a game in hand.
While Guardiola has taken responsibility, City star Bernardo Silva didn’t hold back, criticizing his teammates for their performances. Speaking to Sky Sports, he said, ‘We got what we deserved. At this level, one or two games might be down to luck, but over 10 games, it’s not about luck anymore.
Bernardo Silva didn’t mince words about City’s late-game collapse, saying: ‘Minute 87 in a derby, winning 1-0, and our corner ends in a penalty for them. If we make these stupid decisions with three or four minutes to go, we deserve to pay for that. Looking at the game, there was only one team that could win, but in the end, we lost.
Bernardo Silva didn’t hold back in his criticism, stating, ‘It’s not just one game—it’s been a lot of games lately. We need to take a hard look at ourselves. You can’t just say it’s unlucky, no—it’s about the decisions we make. Today, in the last minute, we played like under-15s.
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