What's going wrong for Manchester City?
Liverpool 2 - 0 Manchester City
Liverpool increased their lead at the top of the Premier League to nine points and added to the woes of fading champions Manchester City with a thoroughly deserved victory at Anfield.
City fell behind on 12 minutes to a Cody Gapko goal and withstood further pressure from the home side, but dug in and went into break trailing only 1-0.
The blues were much more cohesive in the second-half. However, their failure to create any clearcut opportunities was eventually punished by a Mo Salah penalty on 78 minutes.
Pep Guardiola made a cheeky gesture towards Liverpool fans, raising six fingers to signify his Premier League title haul, as they gleefully belted out "sacked in the morning" near the end of the match.
Premier League: 2024/2025 season
The idea of Guardiola facing the sack is, of course, absurd. In a show of mutual respect, he applauded the Liverpool supporters at full-time, and they responded in kind.
However, this was another bruising trip to Anfield for Guardiola. Hopes of City staging an unlikely comeback were dashed by Liverpool's electric start, continuing a trend of tough outings at a ground where the Spaniard has rarely found joy.
Liverpool’s victory means Guardiola has now won just once in 10 visits to Anfield, with six defeats, three draws, and a solitary triumph – a 4-1 win in February 2021 during the behind-closed-doors lockdown era.
On this occasion, City never looked like reversing that poor record. Erling Haaland struggled to make an impact, and Ilkay Gundogan – a hero of Guardiola’s past triumphs – seemed off the pace, raising questions about his influence since rejoining from Barcelona.
In the past, Guardiola’s City have seemed capable of overcoming any obstacle. But in their current form, bridging an 11-point gap to a Liverpool side who outclassed them here feels like an impossible task, even for one of football’s greatest managers and teams.
Some of the key matches in City's awful run
Bournemouth 2 - 1 Manchester City
Semenyo and Evanilson scored a goal in each half to topple the leaders and claim an historic Premier League win. This was the start of City's poor run of form in the Premier League.
Sporting 4 - 1 Manchester City
The current Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim marked his final home game with Sporting by delivering one of his greatest triumphs, inflicting what was then a third straight defeat on Manchester City.
Manchester City 0 - 4 Tottenham Hotspur
This was probably the worst of the lot. James Maddison scored twice as Tottenham swept past Manchester City, handing them a fifth consecutive defeat.
