With Manchester City having now drawn their three latest Premier League games and failed to beat yet another "Big Six" rival, there are notable signs their reign of dominance may be winding down.
The Citizens have won five of the past six Premier League trophies, including three consecutive titles between 2021 and 2023. Last season, they took things a step further as they claimed a maiden continental treble after lifting the EPL, the FA Cup, and their first-ever UEFA Champions League trophies. Given their lofty standards, however, the club now seems to be falling short of expectations this season, which begs the question: Is this the turn of the tide and a gradual decline of their reign of dominance?
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This past weekend, they had to settle for a 3-3 draw with Tottenham Hotspur in what was a thrilling encounter. This was the Citizens' third successive draw in the league after sharing the spoils in games against Liverpool and Chelsea. Notably, they have managed to beat only Manchester United from the "Big Six" so far in this campaign, having also lost 1-0 to Arsenal in October.
City's defence also seems leakier this season, having conceded 16 goals in 14 matches so far at an average of at least one goal conceded per game. Perhaps this is a bigger cause for concern as they have arguably the best depth in the backline, with the likes of Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Kyle Walker, and Josko Gvardiol in their ranks.
In addition to conceding four goals against Chelsea and three against Spurs, Pep Guardiola's men have also failed to keep clean sheets against Sheffield United, Fulham, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Bournemouth. These statistics point to a leaky defence and according to FBRef, goalkeeper Ederson's save percentage of 61.1% makes the Brazilian the joint-second-worst shot-stopper to feature in the Premier League this season by this metric. In the UEFA Champions League, they have conceded in four of their five games, allowing each of their group opponents to score against them, namely minnows Slavia Prague and Young Boys, as well as RB Leipzig.
According to Manchester Evening News, their three-game winless run in the league is the longest City have gone without three points since Guardiola's first campaign in charge. The game against Spurs also means that they have conceded eight goals in the past three EPL games, prompting an admission from the Catalan boss that things are going wrong.
"Tottenham are happy for the point, we are a little bit less happy but the performance is similar to what we have done lately. People say we are concerned about the goals we concede but how many chances did we concede? It's ridiculous," he said.
"We concede nothing but every time for our mistakes and the quality of the opponents we concede a goal and, after, it is more difficult. Still, there are a lot of games and that is the point.
"We're in that position where it's happened lately so let's challenge that situation. Good teams are not defined by good things and moments, it's not the first time we have faced this situation where we are playing good but the results don't come.
"Always we found a solution but lately we are struggling a little bit. I remember the first season when we were playing good but we could not get results.
"The only medicine I got from my time as a player and manager is to insist, insist, insist. And after, see what happens."
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It would certainly be careless to suggest that City have lost their might but what is more than apparent right now is that teams are no longer scared of them, with many sides having taken the game to the Manchester giants this season. Although they top the charts in terms of possession with an average of 61.7% so far in this campaign, they are clearly struggling to prevent goalscoring opportunities from their opposition.
While Guardiola has vowed to "insist" on fixing the leakage, their elimination from the Carabao Cup at the hands of Newcastle United in September was seemingly a precursor for the out-of-sorts displays that have come since, and one certainly wonders if they will be able to turn things back around.
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