‘We are struggling’

Manchester City have reached doordie territory in the Champions League earlier than expected ahead of what Pep Guardiola has described as a ldquofinalrdquo against Club Brugge on WednesdayCity have disproved the suggestion a new format to Europersquos top club competition would remove any jeopardy for the top clubs as Guardiola stares down the barrel of failing to make the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in his careerMan Cityrsquos Pep Guardiola urging his team on against Chelsea on Saturday PicGetty ImagesThe English champions have endured a torrid season both in their Premier League title defence and in the continental competition A run of one win in 13 games which included Champions League defeats to Sporting Lisbon and Juventus between October and December was the nadir of Cityrsquos fall from graceAlso ReadSnithik Garv claim double golds in U10 U14 categoriesCity still vulnerableGuardiolarsquos men have since turned a corner in the Premier League winning four of their last five games to climb back into the top four But the deeper problems at the heart of Cityrsquos struggles were exposed last week as Paris SaintGermain roared back from 20 down to inflict a damaging 42 defeat on the 2023 championsThe loss of Ballon drsquoOr winner Rodri to a seasonending knee injury in September has been a devastating blow and was compounded by a series of fitness issues at centreback where Ruben Dias Nathan Ake and John Stones have all missed large chunks of the campaign Former captain Kyle Walker also shocked the club with a request to leave joining AC Milan on loan All of which has forced City to rip up their initial plans and spend big in the January transfer windowMore than 150 million has already been splashed on Egypt forward Omar Marmoush and young defenders Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov However that trio will not be able to help against Belgian champions Brugge as they are not eligible for this stage of the Champions League campaignldquoWe would not be doing it if our players were fit but today we have two central defenders no more than that and with our holding midfielders we are strugglingrdquo said Guardiola of the January splurgeSquad needs new bloodldquoAfter eight years together we have so many players who are more than thirty years old and the other reason is the amount of problems we have with playersrsquo availability It is an absolutely normal processrdquoCity sit 25th in the 36team table and must finish in the top 24 to avoid elimination But victory will guarantee progress as Brugge sit three points above them with an inferior goal differenceDespite their issues some of Europersquos top clubs will be watching events closely at the Etihad Stadium hoping City do not scrape through only to hit their stride in the knockoutsBookmakers still have them as sixth favourites behind Liverpool Real Madrid Arsenal Barcelona and Bayern MunichDespite their current struggles Guardiola opted to see the silver liningldquoSometimes when you experience these situations and then you achieve titles it is a bigger successrdquoThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever