Pep Guardiola has taken full responsibility for Manchester City’s disappointing run of form to end 2024.
The defending Premier League champions have experienced a dramatic fall from the top, with their 2-0 win over relegation-threatened Leicester City breaking a two-month away win drought. Despite the victory, City have only won twice in their last 14 matches across all competitions and are currently outside the top five ahead of their Premier League clash with West Ham United on Saturday.
Reflecting on the worst stretch of results in his career, Guardiola said, “The blame is on me first. I’m unbelievably honest with myself about why we are in this situation—it’s me. It’s not the players. They naturally dip a little, and that’s normal. It happened a bit last season too.”
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“But with this level of consistency in results, I should have figured it out, and that’s why we’re in this position. I take full responsibility. It’s not about saying ‘Oh, how nice is Pep?’ It’s the truth. I lead this group of players, and I couldn’t lift them. That’s the reality.”
Guardiola, who signed a two-year contract extension after a tough November, added: “In the past, they followed me and we got results. We were the only unbeaten team in Europe and top of the league. But then we dropped off. Injuries and other factors contributed, but I should have found a way to improve the results. Hopefully, we can turn things around now.”
Despite his team’s struggles, Guardiola has consistently stated that City have played well in stretches but have been undone by bad luck. However, he admitted that their narrow win over Leicester was aided by fortune.
“We have to recover our game because we were lucky against Leicester,” he said. “We had the spirit, the drive, and the desire, but I know our level because I’ve seen it over many years. The players and I are not going to deny the reality. It’s football—sometimes you need a change of mindset to recover certain aspects and lift the team. That’s what I need right now, and that’s why the Leicester victory was so important. I’m not denying that.”
