By Manchester City are reeling after a heavy 4-1 Champions League defeat to Sporting Lisbon, leaving the team and fans questioning the club’s recent struggles. Bernardo Silva openly admitted that City are “in a dark place” following the loss, which marked the first time since 2018 that the club has suffered three consecutive defeats in major competitions, excluding a later stretch in 2021.
Ruben Amorim, poised to become Manchester United’s new head coach, oversaw the victory in his final home game as Sporting’s manager, endearing himself to United fans before his official arrival at Old Trafford. City initially took the lead through Phil Foden, but Sporting responded with a powerful hat-trick from Viktor Gyökeres, including two penalties, and a final goal by Maximiliano Araújo. Erling Haaland’s missed penalty added to City’s woes as they endured their heaviest loss since 2020.
Silva voiced his concerns about City’s form and mounting injuries, saying, “Everything looks to be going in the wrong way… Our injured players need to come back because we need them, and it’s just not good enough tonight.”
However, Pep Guardiola remained optimistic, disagreeing with Silva’s assessment. “I don’t agree with him. We are not in the dark side,” Guardiola said. “I like it, I love it, I want to face it and lift my players. Life is like this. We continue.” He stressed his commitment to turning the season around and encouraged his players to refocus ahead of their Premier League clash with Brighton on Saturday.
City have been dealing with a series of setbacks, with key players Rodri, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Jack Grealish, and Kevin De Bruyne sidelined due to injuries. Guardiola fielded 19-year-old center-back Jahmai Simpson-Pusey in the face of a defensive crisis and acknowledged that changes in the backline have disrupted the team’s stability.
Despite City’s struggles, Guardiola dismissed any notion of a crisis and assured fans of his intent to stay the course. “Now is the difficult moment in terms of results but I want to be here. I want to fight and not give up,” he added, underscoring his readiness to steer the team back on track.
Soccer analyst Clinton Morrison also downplayed the situation, stating, “There’s no crisis… They’re far too open at the moment, but come the end of the season, I still see them winning trophies.”
City will aim to break their losing streak when they take on Brighton, with Guardiola determined to rally his squad and overcome the current challenges.
