The Big Lead

Teams don't fear Manchester City any longer, and that's a huge problem for Pep Guardiola

City have already dropped points in four Premier League home matches at the Etihad Stadium this season.

By Matt Reed

Jul 27, 2024; New York, NY, USA; From left, Ferran Soriano, Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola, AC Milan head coach Paulo Fonseca, AC Milan owner Gerry Cardinale and Marty Edelman take a photo before the match between AC Milan and Manchester City at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Boland-Imagn Images
Jul 27, 2024; New York, NY, USA; From left, Ferran Soriano, Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola, AC Milan head coach Paulo Fonseca, AC Milan owner Gerry Cardinale and Marty Edelman take a photo before the match between AC Milan and Manchester City at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Boland-Imagn Images / Lucas Boland-Imagn Images
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Manchester City are going through a challenging period this season despite still sitting top five in the Premier League. For many clubs, a rough patch would be getting bumped out of the top half of the table, or worse, fighting off relegation.

However, the standards at City during the Pep Guardiola have always been higher than most other clubs and for that reason it's why he's so frustrated with the current state of the defending Premier League champions.

Manchester City fans cheer on Erling Haaland after his performance against Chelsea
Aug 3, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Manchester City fans cheer as Erling Haaland (9) walks off the field after scoring three goals to to beat Chelsea 4-2 during the FC Series game at Ohio Stadium. / Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch, Kyle Robertson / USA TODAY NETWORK

"Everyone came to the Etihad and stayed back," he told a news conference on Friday. "The first team I saw man-marking was Neil Warnock at Cardiff. Now everybody does it. Everybody comes here, it doesn't matter, man-to-man."

Simply put, City aren't putting the fear into opposing clubs like how they have in season's past when they were consistently at the top of the Premier League and battling for glory in Europe. This campaign has seen Guardiola's side already drop points in four out of 10 home matches at the Etihad Stadium.

Injuries have certainly played a role in City's drop off in form, but Guardiola was also right in his assessment about other squads not just sitting back and waiting for his side to pounce on opportunities.

This season, in particular, has shown that clubs can not only possess the ball against Guardiola and Co. but also capitalize on their own chances. City are currently ninth in goals allowed in Premier League play, which has previously been one of their biggest strengths as a defensive juggernaut.

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It will be intriguing to see how Guardiola evolves during the second half of the season, especially with new signings coming into the club like defenders Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis as well as forward Omar Marmoush.

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