Pep delivers blunt message Man City fans didn’t want to hear after draw with Brighton

Pep Guardiola acknowledged that Man City is going through a challenging phase in terms of personnel due to Savinho’s severe injury, amid the team’s recent draw with Brighton and continued lack of victories.

Following the 1-1 draw with Brighton, head coach Pep Guardiola delivered some rather discouraging news about Manchester City’s squad situation.

The Spanish manager confirmed that forward Savinho will be sidelined for an extended period after suffering a quadriceps muscle injury during the goalless draw with Sunderland on New Year’s Day. “This injury is serious. Savinho may be out for at least six weeks, possibly longer,”Pep revealed, also acknowledging this is a significant setback given the already severely depleted squad.

Savinho is currently one of nine players unavailable for Man City, which partly explains the recent drop in form with three consecutive draws in the Premier League.

According to the coaching staff, the Brazilian player might be out for nearly two months, causing Man City’s attack to continue lacking pace and unpredictability. In the Sunderland match, Jeremy Doku replaced Savinho and later made his first start in over three weeks against Brighton.

Amid difficulties, Man City has been linked with Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth, who recently scored a decisive last-minute goal at Vitality Stadium and is reportedly close to joining Etihad. However, Pep Guardiola was cautious when discussing potential new signings.

“I don’t know what will happen in the transfer window,”he briefly responded when asked about a new winger. If the deal is completed in time, Semenyo could make his Man City debut against Exeter in the FA Cup this weekend, where the team aims to end their disappointing run of draws with a victory.

Besides injury concerns, Pep Guardiola found some positives in the defensive performances of young players during the Brighton draw. He praised center-back Abdukodir Khusanov and newcomer Max Alleyne, who recently returned from Watford.

“They played excellently. Khusanov was outstanding, especially with his long passes behind the opposing defense,”Pep commented. “He controls space very well, and it’s only a matter of time before he contributes more to build-up play.”.

Regarding Alleyne, Pep highlighted his clear progress despite having trained with the team only once. “Max arrived two days ago, but he adapted quickly and performed impressively,”he added, also expressing gratitude to Watford for helping the young player develop.

Although victory remains elusive, Pep Guardiola believes Man City will soon overcome this difficult phase, yet he also admitted that “it’s been a long time since the team faced so many physical and mental challenges at once.”Every mistake must be addressed if they want to return to the top competition.