Manchester City lost their fourth game in a row 2-1 at Brighton on Saturday, fueling growing speculation that this could finally be the end.
The four-time reigning Premier League champions took the lead but then collapsed to move five points behind Liverpool at the top of the EPL table.
They conceded two goals in six minutes against Brighton, during a 25-minute period in which they did not take a single shot. And they looked nothing like the team that ruled English football for the better part of the last seven years.
The four defeats – against Tottenham in the League Cup, against Bournemouth in the Premier League, against Sporting CP in the Champions League and now against Brighton – equal City’s total for the entirety of last season. And of course this season is less than three months old.
It is also the first time Pep Guardiola has ever lost four games in a row in his managerial career.
City had not lost four games in a row since 2006.
A spate of injuries has contributed to City’s sudden decline. Once Kevin de Bruyne and Ruben Dias, Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish, John Stones and others are fit, City will be better. They also struggled with injuries last season, losing to Aston Villa in December… and then not losing for the rest of the season, until the FA Cup final, having already lifted the EPL trophy.
But Rodri’s main injury won’t heal until next season.
And by then, the Premier League’s 100-plus charges for breaching its financial rules could have far more extreme consequences than a possible second-place finish.
