MANCHESTER, England — There was a moment during stoppage time at the Etihad Stadium when Phil Foden swept the ball out to Bernardo Silva. With the score at 1-1, it was one final chance for Manchester City to scrape a winner against Everton. But it came to nothing. Silva’s cross was rushed and panicked — too words not usually associated with Pep Guardiola’s serial winners.
This, though, is City’s new reality. The spark that has inspired four straight Premier League titles has disappeared over the past two months. A group of players who once found excellence so easy to come by now look like they’re battling a chronic lack of self-confidence.
Silva scored the opener against Everton but also missed a glorious chance to make it 2-0. Quite why he opted to use the outside of his boot and hit his shot first time rather than taking a calming touch and pass the ball into the net, only he will know. Again, it was rushed and panicked, but Silva wasn’t alone in making mistakes. Erling Haaland missed a second-half penalty as City stretched their miserable run to just one win from their past 13 games in all competitions.
It says everything about City’s drop-off that Everton didn’t look like they were trying to win for much of the game and still should have snatched it at the end. In the last of six minutes of injury time, Everton had four players breaking against two City defenders, with the resulting shot from Jack Harrison blocked before it could reach goalkeeper Stefan Ortega. It saved City from further embarrassment, but the eventual draw didn’t stop boos from ringing round the Etihad at the final whistle.
“We played really good but we are in the period right now that is what happens,” Guardiola said afterward. “We create, we concede the first time [they] arrive [in the penalty area]. But yeah, [we] keep going.
“That is the momentum in the situation that everything takes more time to make it work. Football is about winning, scoring goals and not conceding, and always we’ve done it until the last month and a half. Now we’re not able to do it.”
This was supposed to mark the start of City’s revival. Everton at home kicks off a run that includes Leicester, West Ham, Brentford, Ipswich and an FA Cup tie against League Two side Salford City. All of them will kick off against City as underdogs, but the relative ease with which Everton handled Haaland & Co. will spread hope that positive results are possible whatever the odds.
City’s aura of invincibility has been shattered and in its place there’s an anxiety that has infected almost everything. When Silva missed his golden opportunity to make it 2-0 midway through the first half, Foden — who laid on the pass — spun round and screamed in anger. On the touchline, Guardiola arched his back in frustration. In the past, these minor setbacks would have meant very little. Now it feels like things are so difficult that City can’t afford to pass up those chances. Foden and Guardiola seemed to know it, too.
Jordan Pickford expertly saved Haaland’s 53rd-minute penalty, but the only other close call for Everton came from a Josko Gvardiol header which hit the post. Haaland’s penalty was his only shot on target and one of just 22 touches. It’s now one goal in seven Premier League games for the double Golden Boot winner. Even the robotic Norway international seems to be suffering from self-doubt and when a cross was later lofted into the box, he chose to head it back toward Foden rather than go for goal himself.
Afterward, Guardiola spoke about his players not being able to “bounce back mentally” after the penalty miss; counterpart Sean Dyche, meanwhile, admitted there’s a different feeling around the Etihad these days.
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Why Pep Guardiola is now the one to blame for City’s poor form
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“They are getting heavily questioned for the first time,” Dyche, whose team has taken points off Arsenal, Chelsea and City in its past three games, said. “Does that give you an opportunity? It is not easy to take advantage of it. You know [it’s there] because of the noise around it.
“It is the first period of questions, but the prowess they have shown year after year, it’s pretty impressive to have the first period after all the years and trophies, so certainly the maximum respect. I do think they are due one and will open someone up but we worked hard to make sure it didn’t happen today.”
Guardiola can only hope that a few of the eight senior players missing against Everton are back when City travel to Leicester on Sunday. Beyond that, he’s praying that the January transfer window can offer a solution to some of his problems.
“The transfer window in the winter is not easy,” he said. “Even the players know that we have to add some new players. We have a lot [of injuries] and this is a problem. Sometimes it is not easy. We have to try because this is sustained for a long time.”
Having players fit again and getting a few extra bodies through the door in January will help, but the bigger issue facing Guardiola is how he lifts the confidence of a squad that has been battered and bruised by this unprecedented run. Sheikh Mansour’s money will fill some of the gaps in the dressing room. Repairing the self-belief of his players might be harder to achieve.
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