Premier League Talking Points: Manchester City’s Struggles Deepen, Soton Sacks Russell Martin

Manchester City suffered an astonishing eighth defeat in their last 11 matches on Sunday, losing to Manchester United.

This result left Pep Guardiola perplexed while providing a significant boost to Ruben Amorim.

With the spotlight off them, Chelsea moved just two points behind long-time Premier League leaders Liverpool, with a 2-1 win against Brentford.

Wolves dismissed Gary O’Neil after suffering their fourth consecutive defeat, while Southampton parted ways with Russell Martin following a 5-0 drubbing by Tottenham.

Sportxparte examines three key talking points from the Premier League weekend.

Answers elusive for Pep

It is difficult to argue that the City is now experiencing a full-blown crisis.

Guardiola signed a new two-year contract last month at a point when City had lost four in a row, saying he did not feel he could leave the club at a difficult time.

Now he is under pressure to find a way to stop the downward trend following a disappointing 2-1 defeat to United, who had managed only one win in their first four league games under Amorim.

Guardiola provided a harsh self-assessment after the defeat, which came courtesy of a Bruno Fernandes penalty in the 88th minute and an Amad Diallo winner two minutes later.

“I’m the manager and I’m not good enough, simple as that,” he said.

Midfielder Bernardo Silva was even harsher, comparing City’s collapse in the final minutes to an under-15s team.

City have matches coming up that look winnable on paper against Aston Villa, Everton, and Leicester, but with every defeat, the scale of Guardiola’s task looks more daunting.

Is Premier League a Two-horse race?

Earlier this month, Liverpool had a nine-point lead at the top of the Premier League. Now, it is down to just two.

Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea have won their past five games to close the gap on the Reds, who still have a match in hand.

Liverpool demonstrated remarkable resilience by coming from behind twice to secure a 2-2 draw against Fulham on Saturday, even while playing most of the match with just 10 men.

But their momentum has slowed, with the Fulham result following a 3-3 draw last week against Newcastle.

Free-scoring Chelsea have taken full advantage, climbing above London rivals Arsenal, runners-up in the past two campaigns, to stake their claim as Liverpool’s main challengers.

The Blues finished last season strongly under former manager Mauricio Pochettino but few expected Maresca to master his brief so quickly.

The Chelsea boss is eager to say they are not in the title race but the table suggests otherwise.

O’Neil, Martin sacked over relegation fears

Gary O’Neil and Russell Martin paid the price for their clubs’ Premier League struggles.

Martin’s dismissal was confirmed shortly after a sobering loss to Spurs, who netted all five of their goals at St Mary’s in the first half on Sunday.

Wolves suffered a damaging 2-1 loss to relegation rivals Ipswich at Molineux on Saturday, after which O’Neil said he was struggling to help his team cope with the “real basic stuff”.

Wolves, second from bottom of the table, are five points from safety.

However, their situation is not as dire as that of Southampton, who are facing the imminent prospect of relegation to the Championship.

Martin departs having taken just five points from 16 games, leaving Southampton nine points adrift of safety.