Missed Chances, Bitter Lessons: Guardiola Sees City’s Title Hopes Slip as Bernabéu Luck Lingers

Overview

Pep Guardiola acknowledges a major issue costing Manchester City dearly in the Premier League title race after a sequence of discouraging results.

The side have won only one of their last six matches, and they sit nine points behind Arsenal ahead of a tricky test against Liverpool, the reigning champions, in the postponed fixture scheduled for the weekend.

City’s setback followed a painful loss to their local rivals Manchester United last month, but Guardiola argues that wasteful finishing has been the decisive factor in several recent draws against Sunderland, Chelsea, Brighton, and Tottenham.

Missed Chances and the Road Ahead

The Spaniard said: "Don’t get me wrong, when we drift away from the title race the blame lies with us for missing chances. We have squandered opportunities from inside the six-yard box, from penalties, and in clear one-on-ones with the goalkeepers. I told myself: if we had converted more of those chances, we would have more points and be closer to the top."

"But the margins in the English league, and at the highest level of competition, are razor-thin. We won at the Bernabéu despite delivering a far worse display than in many of our league games; sometimes things go this way, and you have to accept it."

City are in a rebuilding phase since lifting the treble in 2023 and the subsequent fourth league title. Guardiola added: "Right now, we don’t have the same continuity. In the treble year, around two or three months, we started with almost the same XI, and even when Julián Álvarez or Riyad Mahrez or defenders came in, everyone knew their roles alongside Gundogan, De Bruyne, and Bernardo Silva."

"This is a process of building. We didn’t reach treble or quadruple status overnight; it took years. We’ve made many changes, so I sometimes tell myself we can be better, but at the same time we didn’t expect too much given the injuries we’ve faced. I don’t know what will happen in the weeks or months ahead, perhaps things will worsen, so I try to stay positive."

City are navigating a rebuilding phase with injuries and squad turnover reshaping the balance, yet Guardiola insists the club remains determined to rediscover their best form. A demanding fixture list could ultimately decide whether they salvage a successful season domestically and in Europe.

Sniper joke #1: City’s finishers are so good at missing that even the ball has started taking a vacation to avoid the net. Talk about a moving target!

Sniper joke #2: Pep’s pep talks are working—the players are so inspired they keep trying to score from the opposite goal. If only the goalkeeper could lend them a map to the right corner.