Pep Guardiola admitted he’s struggling to find solutions to Manchester City’s current woes as his team conceded two late goals to slump to a 2-1 home derby defeat to Manchester United.
City had led through Josko Gvardiol’s 36th-minute header but were again well below their best before unravelling in dramatic fashion late on to fall to an eighth defeat in 11 matches.
Makeshift left-back Matheus Nunes fouled Amad Diallo when trying to make amends for a poor back pass to Ederson and gave away a penalty that Bruno Fernandes converted. Amad would score a winning goal in the 90th minute to cap a remarkable turnaround.
City are in a desperate period and remain nine points off the pace set by Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table, but Guardiola said he cannot find the answers to their current problems.
“I’m the boss, I’m the manager, I have to find solutions but I don’t find solutions,” Guardiola said. “This is a big club and when you lose eight of [11] something is wrong. You can say the schedule is tough or the injuries to players, but no.
“I’m the manager and I’m not good enough, simple as that. I have to find a way to talk to them, to train them in the way we need to play, to press the way we need to press. I’m not good enough. I’m not doing well. That is the truth.”
Guardiola, who signed a two-year contract extension last month, has said that he did not feel he could leave the club at a difficult time and has been fighting against a large injury list throughout the season.
City have a free week before visiting Aston Villa next Saturday and the manager made it clear that he will continue to seek improvement from his team.
“I’m here,” he said. “I’m responsible. It would be easy for me to say we lost because of this action or this player or this situation but football is a team.
“I’m completely convinced in what I’m saying, that I’m not good enough to find a way for them to feel peace in their bodies and their minds. I want it desperately. I’m here to try and I will try again and again but that is the reality.”
'We believed a lot'
Ruben Amorim celebrated a second win over Guardiola in six weeks, having beaten City 4-1 in the Champions League during his final days at Sporting Lisbon, and hoped this one would provide the foundations for his rebuild at United.
“I think we did a great job, we controlled it very well,” he said. “We didn’t allow much, of course we don’t create so much either but it was a divided game. But we believed a lot.
“It was different from Arsenal, we controlled the Arsenal game in the first half but I didn’t feel that belief. Today I felt it and I think that was the key point to change the game.
“I think for the fans it has a deep meaning especially in this context, this moment, but we had a difficult moment one week ago against Nottingham [Forest] at home, in the storm.
“After this match we are more happy, three points, but we have to continue and don’t stop. Next week we are playing again and it will change the way we see the team. Today is a good day, let’s enjoy it for 10 minutes and then think about the next game.”
Amorim dropped Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho from the matchday squad in a call that raised eyebrows but the head coach maintained was solely a selection decision.
“It’s important to say why: it was not a disciplinary thing,” Amorim said. “Next week, next game, new life, they are fighting for their places.
“For me it’s important, the performance in training, the performance in games, the way you dress, the way you eat, the way you engage with teammates, the way you push your teammates.
“Everything is important in our context in the beginning of something when we want to change a lot of things, when people in our club are losing their jobs we have to set the standards really high and for that they have to fight for a place in the team.
“Today the team proved we can leave anyone out of the squad and manage to win if you play together. If it was disciplinary, I would say that here and it will be a bigger problem but was not that.”
