Pep Guardiola says his sleep has suffered during Manchester City’s deepening crisis, so he will not be helped by a nightmarish conclusion to one of the most stunning defeats of his long reign.
Guardiola looked agitated, animated and on edge even after City led the Manchester derby through Josko Gvardiol’s 36th-minute header, his reaction to the goal one of almost disdain that it came via a deflected cross as opposed to in his purist style.
He sat alone with his eyes closed sipping from a water bottle before the resumption of the second half, then was denied even the respite of victory when Manchester United gave this largely dismal derby a dramatic conclusion it barely deserved with a remarkable late comeback.
First, with 88 minutes on the clock, Matheus Nunes presented Amad Diallo with the ball before compounding his error by flattening the forward as he made an attempt to recover his mistake. Bruno Fernandes completed the formalities from the penalty spot.
Worse was to come two minutes later when Lisandro Martinez’s routine long ball caught City’s defence inexplicably statuesque. Goalkeeper Ederson’s positioning was awry, allowing the lively Diallo to pounce from an acute angle to leave Guardiola and his players stunned.
It was the latest into any game, 88 minutes, that reigning Premier League champions had led then lost. It was also the first time City had lost a game they were leading so late on.
And in a sign of City’s previous excellence that is now being challenged, they have only lost four of 105 Premier League home games under Guardiola in which they have been ahead at half-time, winning 94 and drawing seven.
Guardiola delivered a brutal self-analysis as he told Match of the Day: “I am not good enough. I am the boss. I am the manager. I have to find solutions and so far I haven’t. That’s the reality.
“Not much else to say. No defence. Manchester United were incredibly persistent. We have not lost eight games in two seasons. We can’t defend that.”
BBC
