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It has been 34 days since Manchester City past tasted triumph successful immoderate competition.
Since that 1-0 triumph implicit Southampton successful the Premier League, Pep Guardiola's broadside person gone retired of the EFL Cup, mislaid 3 Premier League games connected the rotation and dropped 5 points retired of six successful the Champions League.
Now, 8 points adrift of apical spot, they look the imaginable of perchance falling retired of the Premier League rubric contention with the toughest of challenges astatine league leaders Liverpool connected Sunday.
If City suffer to Arne Slot's in-form Reds, they volition beryllium 11 points down their rubric rivals.
Defensive frailties, a fragile mentality, important injuries and a deficiency of assurance are conscionable immoderate of the things pundits, Guardiola and his players person cited for this uncharacteristic downturn.
Midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, who captained City to a Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League Treble successful 2022-23, said his side's existent concern was "inexplicable".
He said 11 points would beryllium a "huge gap", portion Guardiola besides agreed "it's true" specified a shortage could beryllium excessively important to overhaul.
Are they right? Would that tally beryllium excessively overmuch for a broadside renowned for warring until the extremity of the season?
Only connected 3 occasions has a squad travel from 11+ points down successful a Premier League play to triumph the title.
Manchester City person ne'er managed to triumph the rubric aft being down by much than 10 points
To connection immoderate hope, though, they person clawed backmost deficits of betwixt 8-10 points to triumph the rubric connected six occasions - and each astatine a aboriginal signifier of the run than now
No team, having won the title, has ever mislaid 4 successful a enactment successful a Premier League campaign
Only erstwhile has a squad had an 11-point pb aft 13 games and that was Manchester United successful the 1993-94 season. They went connected to triumph the title.
Never earlier has a squad mislaid 5 matches successful a enactment - City's tally earlier Tuesday's gully - and go champions.
Guardiola had ne'er antecedently mislaid 5 successive games successful his full managerial career.
Squandering a three-goal pb against Feyenoord successful the Champions League to yet draw 3-3 meant City person conceded 2 oregon much goals successful six successive matches successful each competitions for the archetypal clip since May 1963.
As shown above, Manchester City are nary strangers successful turning astir a sticky spot of signifier to spell connected to triumph the league.
In fact, successful 4 of Guardiola's six Premier League title-winning seasons, they person overturned gaps of 8 points oregon more.
An quality to retrieve from a drawstring of mediocre results and embark connected a relentless winning streak, peculiarly entering the second stages, means no-one dares to constitute them disconnected successful a rubric race.
But, for once, past is not connected their side. Going by the statistics, an eight-point spread feels doable, but to travel from 11 down is thing they person ne'er done earlier - and not galore others person either.
Based connected their existent form, superior doubts are being aired.
Former Everton midfielder Leon Osman said connected BBC Radio 5 Live: "You cognize present that if you tin get a spot of momentum successful a crippled you tin really stroke Manchester City distant astatine the moment. They concede one, they look similar their doors are opening.
"It seems to beryllium a intelligence thing. The crippled absorption does not look to beryllium there. They support making mistakes oregon leaving an accidental for the opposition."
Former Blackburn striker Chris Sutton said City look "fragile" and intelligibly "lack belief".
"Can they retrieve overall?" helium added. "Maybe we're astatine the signifier wherever we're looking astatine Manchester City and wondering tin they retrieve that confidence?"
It is intolerable to disregard the value of injuries to Rodri, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Kevin de Bruyne, Jack Grealish and adjacent Oscar Bobb.
"Historically, you cognize City tin bash it but they look truthful depleted astatine the moment," said erstwhile Brighton striker Glenn Murray.
"The effect [against Liverpool] volition person a immense plaything connected the rubric race."
Former Liverpool and Scotland midfielder Don Hutchison said "there is nary mode back" for Guardiola's broadside if they suffer astatine Anfield, but a triumph would alteration the conversation.
"They are susceptible of putting a agelong of wins together," helium added.
"If they tin get their play backmost connected way with a effect astatine Anfield past we volition each alteration our tune and accidental they are back. It is simply a crippled that has tremendous unit for City."
Guardiola has committed himself to the nine for the adjacent 2 years but volition person to propulsion disconnected 1 of his top feats if City are to person a accidental of lifting an unprecedented 5th consecutive trophy travel May.
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