Manchester City face a crucial match against Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday, days after capitulating to throw away three points in the Champions League against Feyenoord
Manchester City are stuck in a rut at present because many of their players simply aren’t fit enough to carry out Pep Guardiola’s orders, according to Danny Murphy.
City’s winless run was extended to six matches on Tuesday after they surrendered a commanding 3-0 lead at home to Feyenoord. Two goals from Erling Haaland and one from Ilkay Gundogan had them in control before they self-destructed and conceded three times in the final 15 minutes to draw 3-3 in the Champions League.
The match was full of worrying performances, with the normally reliable Ederson making silly mistakes and players not concentrating or tracking back to defend. City now face a crunch match against title rivals Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, with their opponents in completely contrasting form after beating Real Madrid.
Guardiola has a lot to address in the coming days, knowing a win for Liverpool this weekend would extend their lead over City at the top of the Premier League to 11 points. City have been hampered by injuries recently and former Liverpool midfielder Murphy believes their lack of physicality is a bigger problem than any mental one.
Asked on BBC’s Champions League highlights programme if City’s confidence had gone, Murphy replied: “It can happen to a team. It starts with a few individuals and spreads a little bit. But I do think their bigger problem is not so much the confidence, it is the physicality of them. They don’t have that same tenacity that we talk about them in the press, that energy, that relentlessness that we’ve seen City teams have.
“And I’m not saying it’s all about their lack of effort. It’s more that some of them aren’t physically fit because they’ve been out a while and some of them have just switched off. And when you’re not physically at it, especially at elite football, you get found out.”
Another former Premier League midfielder, Thomas Hitzlsperger, thinks that Guardiola’s playing style is not helping things. “That’s been Pep’s game throughout: press high up, win the ball back and then have control,” he said.
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“I don’t think they’re capable of changing their style completely. I think this is the biggest task he’s got right now. It’s their principle – stay high up and reduce the space for them (the opposition), just make sure you win the ball back. In this game they’re 3-0 up and thinking ‘tonight’s the night when we change that bad run of form and results’, but again it’s not happening.”
The stress of the job appeared to be getting to Guardiola on Tuesday, with a cut on his nose and scratches on his head drawing attention. He was forced to release a statement explaining himself after drawing criticism for appearing to make light of self harm.
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