BY LORI EWING
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola insists he has “incredible trust” that the results will come for his team as their crisis continued to grow with a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday.
Jhon Duran and ex-Citizen Morgan Rogers scored to hand City a stunning ninth loss in 12 matches across all competitions.
Villa leapfrogged Guardiola’s team into fifth in the table.
City’s poor run has seen them drop 24 points in the league before even reaching the halfway point of the season. They dropped 23 points in total last season.
Highlights from our 2-1 win over Man City at Villa Park 📺
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) December 21, 2024
Enjoy, Villans 🙌 pic.twitter.com/5KUODbFaIk
And Guardiola says: “We have to think positive and I have incredible trust in the guys. Some of them have incredible pride and desire to do it.
“We have to find a way, step by step, sooner or later to find a way back.”
He gave his players two days off to clear their heads, saying their poor form is “now all in our minds”.
While they painted a picture of collective frustration on Saturday at Villa Park, Guardiola says he believes they will get their confidence back “step-by-step”, adding: “We have nice personalities in the team and sooner or later we are going to find it.”
City striker Erling Haaland, who has found the back of the net just twice in their last eight league games, says the team backs Guardiola and adds: “First I’m looking at myself, I haven’t been scoring my chances. I have to do better, I haven’t been good enough.”