Pep Guardiola believes he can see a way out of Manchester City's dismal run of form.
The City manager held up six fingers to the Anfield faithful on Sunday — for each of the Premier League titles he has won in England — as a retort to them mocking that he was "getting sacked in the morning".
Title number seven looks like it will have to wait after Liverpool's deserved 2-0 win over City at Anfield on Sunday extended their lead over Guardiola's men to 11 points.
City are winless in their past seven matches across all competitions, losing six, but Guardiola can spot some light at the end of the tunnel.
He suggested one of his team's familiar winning runs is possible despite missing influential midfielder Rodri and having several other ongoing fitness problems.
"There were players who made an effort playing not in their positions because we didn't have alternatives," he told Sky Sports after the Liverpool defeat. "All I can do is say thank you to them because I know the commitment that they do with and without the ball
I don't know, maybe it's something inside of me, I have the feeling that we will be from here. Restart and try to make some good run and win games."
Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake both largely impressed in an under-siege back four at Anfield, while Jeremy Doku, Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish — all of whom have suffered varying levels of injury woes this term – each produced lively cameos.
"There are moments that maybe we have to make a click. Today Kevin made some good minutes. We need that pace and I didn't see it in the last games," Guardiola said.
"Jack played good in that position [central midfield] as well and Jeremy had good minutes after one month out.
"Bernardo [Silva] and Rico [Lewis] with a lot of minutes in their legs and Nathan was exceptional against maybe one of the most toughest wingers ever, Mohamed Salah.
"I take some things. I would say congratulate Liverpool, they deeseve the victory, accept the situation right now and build from that.
"The results we are getting we are not in the position to think about big, big targets but the season is long. There are many things to fight for and we are going to try."
Can Jack Grealish play in central midfield?
Central midfield has become a huge problem for City since Rodri suffered ACL damage. The Ballon d'Or winner's most natural replacement, Mateo Kovacic, is out until Christmas and Ilkay Gundogan has been used for more than would have been ideally expected since rejoining on a free transfer from Barcelona.
Guardiola praised Silva and Lewis for their efforts playing out of their comfort zones at the base of the midfield but hinted after the match that Grealish, who has featured almost exclusively as a left-winger since joining City for £100million in August 2021, could help out in the engine room.
"Jack, in the middle, I'm thinking can help us to have that control and that vision to the final third," Guardiola added at his post-match news conference.
City return to Premier League action at home to Nottingham Forest on Wednesday before travelling to Crystal Palace next weekend.
blogpay
Pep Guardiola believes he can see a way out of Manchester City's dismal run of form.
I don't know, maybe it's something inside of me, I have the feeling that we will be from here. Restart and try to make some good run and win games."
Total Comments: 0