Manchester City and Pep Guardiola will go into Sunday’s Manchester derby on the back of a disappointing 2-0 defeat away to Juventus in the Champions League.
With two games left to play in the league phase of the new format, it leaves Guardiola’s side facing the prospect of a two-legged playoff (at best).
City snapped a seven-game streak without a win by beating Nottingham Forest in the Premier League but they followed that up with a 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace and then this reverse in Turin as their slump does not look like ending any time soon.
Sam Lee breaks down the talking points from the match in Italy.
Where does this leave City?
Who would have expected City to be clinging on to a spot in the top 24 of this expanded Champions League?
The new format has already added an extra complication to their campaign, because in the old six-game group stage they had often guaranteed top spot before the final match and could rest players for Premier League matches.
This time, due to the new format, their struggles and the lack of available players they could not make those changes, which is likely to have a knock-on effect at the weekend.
Their defeat in Turin also means they will have to get at least one win against Paris Saint-Germain (one point behind City) and Club Brugge (two points ahead of City) in January to secure that spot in the top 24, which will mean a two-legged play-off in February and an even longer season than most were expecting.
Was Ederson unlucky?
Guardiola said ahead of the match that he made a change in goal recently just to keep things fresh, and given the relatively few opportunities to do that with the outfielders you can see why it is appealing.
It was a surprise to see Ederson drop out for City’s game at Anfield, though, and Stefan Ortega kept his place for the two games after that, but the Brazilian was back in goal here.
He had some shaky moments and was, in some ways, unlucky for Juve’s first goal; it looked like he had made a fine reaction save, but the ball squeezed over the line.
That said, the save prior to that was pushed back into the middle of the box, hardly away from danger.
As Guardiola always says, Ederson has been a fundamental part of City’s success, but Ortega has also been very good whenever given a chance, too. It will be interesting to see who is back in the starting line-up for the Manchester derby on Sunday.
Was De Bruyne only positive for City?
This is obviously a cautious City team at the moment, lacking in confidence and hamstrung by injuries and the obvious fatigue of those who are fit.
The way that they sprung into life after Juve’s opening goal suggested that Guardiola’s men had more energy in the tank than the steady first-half approach suggested — perhaps they were saving some of it for the derby on Sunday, and given the lack of options in the squad at the moment that would be understandable.
The man at the heart of their best moments on Wednesday was, unsurprisingly, Kevin De Bruyne, who set up Erling Haaland magnificently in the first half and did well again for Gundogan after half-time.
City are unable to control matches like they usually do at the moment and so individual actions become more and more important — unfortunately for City, they did not capitalise on the danger created by De Bruyne.
What did Pep Guardiola say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What next for Manchester City?
Sunday, December 15: Manchester United (H), Premier League, 4.30pm GMT, 11.30am ET
Recommended reading
- Juventus, City and the far-reaching impact of a scandal that resulted in relegation
- Why Pep Guardiola is feeling the pressure – and how he is dealing with it
- Jack Grealish in a central role provides plenty of food for thought for Guardiola
- Analysing the numbers behind Manchester City’s shocking defensive decline
(Top photo: ISABELLA BONOTTO/AFP via Getty Images)
