Pep Guardiola admits that Manchester City are facing some defensive problems
Manchester City’s 2-1 defeat at the hands of Leicester City on Boxing Day sent Liverpool seven points clear at the top of the table. The Citizens have faltered in the title race with successive defeats against Crystal Palace and Leicester after a formidable start to the season and manager Pep Guardiola believes that his team has to find a way to regain the lost momentum.
Having conceded five goals in their last two defeats, Guardiola has addressed that his team are facing certain issues at the back.
“We started the season with cleans sheets, we conceded five goals in I don’t know how many games. It was incredible how stable it was – [other teams] shot one or two a game during that period,” he said.
“It’s quite similar right now. I don’t know how many time they shot but, with the exception of the last five-10 minutes, of the first half, in the second half, I don’t know many times they shot.
“But right now we are conceding goals and it’s one of the big issues. We have a specific quality of players. We have players to play with a ball and it’s not a team built to just defend a lot the time. But you have to make that effort to change that dynamic.”
Manchester City desperately need to bag all three points against Southampton to set up an enthralling clash against Liverpool on January 3.
