'No. 7 ahead of Christmas' Pep hints at dark age in unfamiliar rankings "We may not be able to make it to UCL, I admit."
'No. 7 ahead of Christmas' Pep hints at dark age in unfamiliar rankings "We may not be able to make it to UCL, I admit."
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With Manchester City spending Christmas unfamiliarly seventh in the English Premier League (PL), Pep Guardiola admitted that it could be difficult to reach the semifinals.
Manchester City will face Everton through a home game in the 18th round of the 2024-2025 English Premier League (PL) at Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, at 9:30 p.m. on the 26th (Korea time).
Manchester City spent Christmas in seventh place. Although Everton is far lower at 15th, it is hard to predict the lead. Manchester City can lose no matter who you meet recently. In the past five games (including the Cup), Manchester City has only one win, one draw and three losses, while Everton are even better with one win, three draws and one loss.
Guardiola has had one win, two draws and nine losses in the recent 12 games. He has had the worst slump since his debut as a professional coach in 2008. He led Manchester City to an unbeaten streak early this season, inducing the club to renew his contract, and then rapidly fell from the moment he lost one game.
Still, the gap between the top and the bottom teams is not that big. Manchester City has 27 points with eight wins, three draws and six losses. It is four points behind Nottingham Forest, the fourth-ranked team that will qualify for the UCL next season, and eight points behind Chelsea, the second-ranked team. If it begins to take an upturn, it can quickly enter the race for fourth place, but if it loses two more times, it will be difficult to reverse then.
Guardiola, who had a press conference with local media including the BBC ahead of the match against Everton, said, "In the past, everyone laughed it off when we talked about advancing to the UCL. They said that advancing to the UCL rarely pays off. However, I knew that in England, there will be a time when any club has to struggle to advance to the UCL. Even teams that have dominated the league for many years sometimes go through years where they cannot even play in the UCL," adding, "Manchester City's realistic goal is to advance to the semifinals." 스포츠토토
"Manchester City is a team that has definitely secured a UCL berth over the past few years. Right now, we can't guarantee that it will advance to the UCL either. Of course, it is. It is a clear fact," he said.
Guardiola's case in the past seems to be back in the semi-finals. Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United had been in the top four of the PL since the mid-2000s. These four teams dominated the top four spots for four consecutive seasons from the 2005-2006 season. Since then, only one of the four teams has been pushed out of the top four, with at least three teams remaining in the semifinals until 2012. The situation has changed since 2012. Manchester United has failed to advance to the UCL for five of the past 11 seasons. Arsenal had failed to advance to the UCL for six consecutive seasons. Liverpool had failed to advance to the UCL for a whopping six of the seven seasons since 2010. Chelsea has failed to enter the UCL for the past two consecutive years.