Pep Guardiola was left despairing as goals from Dusan Vlahovic and Weston McKennie condemned his side to yet another defeat. The result leaves Man City with just 1 win in their last ten games in all competitions, a run the likes of which they have never experienced under the Spaniard.
After the final whistle, Guardiola said: “We missed the last pass, did not arrive in the six-yard box or have the composure at the right moment.
“Of course I question myself but I’m stable in good moments and bad moments.”
The result leaves the Citizens at risk of exiting the Champions League in the league stage, and their struggles won’t be helped by the trip to French giants PSG coming up in their next fixture. Both teams will be desperate for a result to secure a play-off position before the final league match next month.
Unfortunately, following the game, defender Kyle Walker took to Instagram to share screenshots of racist abuse he received in the wake of the result. He captioned the image with a call to social media authorities to do more to tackle racist abuse on their platforms.
The England international wrote: “@instagram and the authorities need to stop this happening for the sake of all who are suffering this abuse. It is never acceptable.” His club condemned the abuse in a statement shortly after Walker’s post on Thursday afternoon.
Anti-racism campaigners Kick It Out received 1332 reports of racist incidents in the 2023/24 season, the most the charity had ever seen in a single season, showing that the issue is not becoming any less prevalent. Whilst campaigners continue to work hard to push change in English football, it is clear to see that action must be taken by wider organisations to combat this ongoing issue which is seemingly entrenched in British football culture.