Pep Guardiola insists his Manchester City players are making “more effort than ever” to halt their remarkable slump.
The four-time defending Premier League champions have won just one of their last 12 games in all competitions and go into Christmas in seventh place, nine points behind leaders Liverpool, who have also played two games more.
City were weak at Aston Villa on Saturday, losing 2-1 and producing a lethargic performance.
But Guardiola says the recent problems are not due to a lack of commitment.
PEP 💬 It’s about a lot of small details or some big details that make us no longer as good as we were. But we have another opportunity on Boxing Day. We have players coming back and at some point we will be better. pic.twitter.com/BCoBfTZusK
— Manchester City (@ManCity) December 24, 2024
Ahead of the Boxing Day clash with Everton, he said: “The boys are running and giving themselves more than ever.” There are a lot of little or big details that make (us) overall not as good as we once were.
“But we have another opportunity on Boxing Day to buy time for the players to come back and at some point we will be better.”
No Stones against Everton
The long injury list, which now includes John Stones after he left at half-time at Villa Park, didn’t help City either.
Stones misses the chance to face his former club, who are slowly moving in the right direction thanks to a defensive improvement that has seen them keep clean sheets in seven of their last 10 games.
Everton have not beaten City since 2017 but Guardiola is wary of Sean Dyche’s men.
“There is no perfect opponent in this situation,” he added.
“It’s about us giving our best again. It will take some time. We need to get results as quickly as possible. We face Everton and they are in good shape, their results and performances show it.”
