Bodø/Glimt shock Manchester City in the Champions League and win sensationally 3:1. Will there now be a major coaching quake at the billion-pound team from England?
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- Manchester City are in crisis: the derby defeat against Manchester United was followed by the embarrassment at Bodø/Glimt in the Champions League.
- Starting coach Pep Guardiola blames the poor run in the new year on the numerous absences.
- Meanwhile, wild rumors about the Catalan's immediate departure are doing the rounds on the net.
There is a huge surprise in the league phase of the Champions League at the start of the penultimate round. The great Manchester City went down 3-1 at Norwegian representative Bodø/Glimt.
Once again, the Citizens' shaky defense was in the spotlight. However, starting coach Pep Guardiola is also becoming more and more of an issue. Because things are not going well at all for the long-time dominator of English football. They lost 2-0 in the league last weekend after a similarly uninspired performance against arch-rivals Manchester United and are already seven points behind leaders Arsenal.
Even before the embarrassment against Bodø/Glimt, British journalist and presenter Richard Keys spread a wild rumor: "Guardiola will be gone at the end of the year anyway. That's for sure. Gone. But don't rule out the possibility that he could leave as early as this week," quoted theDaily Mailand other English media.
"A lot has been going against us since the New Year"
The Catalan himself, however, was not in any doubt about this recently: "I'm happy here, I want to stay here," said the 55-year-old, whose contract is still valid until the summer of 2027, in December. But a lot has happened since then.
"A lot of things have gone against us since the New Year," said Guardiola after the game in Norway on Tuesday. "It's a difficult time in terms of results. Everything seems to be going against us a little bit." The starting coach primarily blames the numerous absences. "We're in this because I'm missing a lot of important players."
Among others, Ruben Dias, John Stones and Josko Gvardiol are missing three regular players in defense. A number of players are also currently unavailable in midfield, including Mateo Kovacic, Matheus Nunes and Nico Gonzalez.
500 million euros for transfers - 0 titles
However, Guardiola cannot complain about a lack of investment. Including last year's winter transfer window, City have spent over €500 million on new transfers in just one calendar year. However, since winning the league title and the English Super Cup a year and a half ago, the "Skyblues" have been waiting for a trophy.
This winter alone, the Catalans welcomed two transfers worth a total of almost €100 million in the form of attacking star Antoine Semenyo (around €75 million) and defender Marc Guéhi (around €25 million). However, Semenyo and Guéhi can only be registered for the knockout phase of the Champions League.
