Guardiola comes out fighting as Man City hit 'dark place'

Manchester City director Energy Guardiola has shown up ready to brawl as he thinks about his side's most awful succession of results beginning around 2018. The 4-1 Bosses Association rout by Donning in Lisbon was City's third misfortune in succession. Just a single time during Guardiola's reign have City lost multiple times in succession in a solitary season. Despite the fact that he dismissed captain Bernardo Silva's post-match statement that the club is presently in a "dull spot", Guardiola likewise acknowledged after a loss of this size, words are to a great extent useless. Nonetheless, he isn't moving in an opposite direction from the test. "We realized it would be an intense season toward the beginning," he said. "I like it. I love it. I need to confront it and lift my players. "I won't surrender, that is without a doubt."

Not many will have compassion for City over their ongoing injury issues.

Guardiola's choice to hand an initial beginning to FA Youth Cup-winning captain Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, a day after his nineteenth birthday celebration and under seven days after his senior presentation, underlined the issues he is managing in focal safeguard.

Neither John Stones nor Ruben Dias made the excursion, while Nathan Ake stayed on the substitutes seat all through.

Rico Lewis played at right-back without captain Kyle Walker and Kevin de Bruyne was just take a chance for the last six minutes.

Protective midfielder Rodri is, obviously, out for the season.

Guardiola says the ongoing experience feels like his presentation crusade in 2016-17, when City battled for consistency and were fifth after a 4-0 loss at Everton in January prior to leaving on a run of one misfortune in 17 association games, which in the end drove them to complete in third spot.

"It occurred in my most memorable year," he said. "Some of the time it does.

"I need to attempt to track down a clarification however here and there it's simply football so you need to acknowledge it. That's what sport is. That's what life is. Some of the time we have awful minutes yet we face the truth.

"Everybody needs to attempt to be better and we will track down it. We are as yet alive in all rivalries and we proceed."

City have another tough away trip to Brighton on Saturday.

It is not entirely clear who Guardiola will have available but he will be desperate to avoid a fourth straight reverse.

For Silva, it is a tough time.

"It's difficult to find the reasons why what is happening to us now," he said. "In seven and a half seasons, I don't remember three in a row.

"We're in a dark place. Everything looks to be going the wrong way.

"The good thing is even though we lost three games we're in good positions in the Premier League and Champions League. We're still fighting for everything, but we need to do better. It's just not good enough at the minute."

City are second in the Premier League, two points behind leaders Liverpool but four clear of third-placed Nottingham Forest and sixth in the expanded Champions League table.

However, they are likely to drop outside the top eight when the second set of matches in the fourth round of fixtures are played.

Nevertheless, at least they are competing, unlike Manchester United, which Guardiola pointed out when he was asked about the prospect of coming up against Ruben Amorim when he moves in at Old Trafford next week.

"Yes, he will be United manager and we will face him two times in the Premier League and maybe the FA Cup. In the Champions League it is not possible."