Pep Guardiola Backs Manchester City Players Despite Slump

Manchester City’s beleaguered manager, Pep Guardiola, insists he has “incredible trust” in his team’s ability to turn things around.

This statement comes as the champions continue to struggle, suffering a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday.

Jhon Durán and Morgan Rogers scored to hand City a stunning ninth loss in 12 matches across all competitions. Villa climbed over Guardiola’s team into fifth in the table, while City is sixth and could plummet to as low as ninth by the end of the weekend.

City’s rough patch has resulted in them dropping 24 points in the league before reaching the midpoint of the season. Last season, they dropped a total of 23 points.

“We have to think positive and I have incredible trust in the guys,” Guardiola told TNT Sports. “Some of them have incredible pride and desire to do it. We have to find a way, step by step, sooner or later to find a way back.”

The manager gave his players two days off this week to clear their heads, saying the team’s poor performance is “now all in our minds.”

While they painted a picture of collective frustration on Saturday at Villa Park, Guardiola said he believes they will get their confidence back “step-by-step”.

“We have nice personalities in the team, and sooner or later, we are going to find it,” he said.

Haaland comment on Guardiola

City striker Erling Haaland said the team backs Guardiola, for whom this stretch is the worst in his otherwise glittering managerial career.

“He won the Premier League six times in seven years, so we will never forget that,” Haaland told TNT. “He will find the solutions. He has been doing that every single year. We still believe in him, we have to work harder than ever right now.”

Haaland, who was the Premier League’s top scorer for the past two seasons, has scored only twice in his last eight league matches. On Saturday, he took full responsibility for his performance.

“First, I’m looking at myself; I haven’t been scoring my chances,” the Norwegian said. “I have to do better, I haven’t been good enough.”