Pep Guardiola Admits His Season as Manchester City Boss Has Been ‘Really Poor’

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has described his performance this season as “really poor”, as his team struggles to defend their Premier League title.

City, who have won the league in each of the past four seasons, are currently fifth in the table, trailing leaders Liverpool by 22 points with only nine matches left.

Since joining City in 2016, Guardiola has won six Premier League titles, but he has never finished a season lower than third in his managerial career.

When asked how he would rate his performance this season, the 54-year-old said:

“This season? Really poor. The opponents never gave us a red carpet to win the titles we won in the past. My duty was to handle the situation better than I have done.”

He blamed the team’s struggles on “a few details” but remains hopeful that next season will be different.

City face Bournemouth in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Sunday, aiming to reach the semi-finals for the seventh straight season.

However, Guardiola believes that winning the FA Cup and securing a Champions League spot will not make up for their disappointing league campaign.

“It would be great to reach the FA Cup final and qualify for the Champions League,” he said. “But the season has been poor, and that won’t change.”

The City boss admitted that their standards have dropped, adding:

“Winning one title or finishing in the top four won’t change the fact that this season has not been good. We will be happy if we do it, but we must accept the reality.”