Tragedies keep happening! Guardiola should be dismissed as Man City loses 1-3, handing Bodø/Glimt their shining first victory; Haaland sleepwalks through 8 matches

At 01:45 on January 21st Beijing time, in the 7th round of the Champions League group stage, Man City, having lost the Manchester derby, faced the underdog from the Norwegian league, Bodø/Glimt, away.

In the first half, Ajer’s mistake gifted Bodø/Glimt a chance, Blomberg assisted twice, and Hauge scored twice within two minutes, leaving Man City trailing 0-2 at halftime; in the second half, Hauge scored a stunning long-range goal to extend the lead, Selke pulled one back, but the Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, who has been sleepwalking for consecutive matches, received two yellow cards in one minute and was sent off, leaving Man City a man down and unable to turn the tide.

In a shocking upset, 10-man Man City lost 1-3 away, granting Bodø/Glimt their first Champions League win this season, while Man City suffered their second consecutive defeat across all competitions.

Bodø/Glimt vs Man City, Bodø/Glimt lined up in a 4-4-2 formation with a starting lineup valued at 42.6 million euros;Guardiola deployed a 4-3-3 formation with Haaland upfront, flanked by Foden and Selke on the wings; Reijnders, Rodri, and Lewis formed the midfield trio; O’Reilly, Ajer, Husanov, and Nouri made up the back four; Donnarumma guarded the goal, with a starting lineup worth 666 million euros..

Since Man City’s quadruple last season, Guardiola has become synonymous with disasters and upsets. This summer, Man City was eliminated from the Club World Cup by an Asian team, a huge shock! Last weekend’s Manchester derby seemed like a 0-2 defeat to Man United, but if not for multiple shots hitting the post and Donnarumma’s repeated saves, it would have been a catastrophe! Just three days later, Man City created another disaster, losing 1-3 to Bodø/Glimt who secured their first Champions League win this season.

Guardiola messed up again this match, playing Nouri—a left-footed player—as right-back. How does that work? Haaland has been sleepwalking for 8 straight games, scoring only one penalty, yet Guardiola still trusts him blindly. Rodri, who made multiple errors in the Manchester derby nearly gifting goals, again showed he lacks the form and spirit to be a Man City starter after his major injury, receiving two yellows in one minute this match. Reijnders is yet another Man City player drifting on the pitch.

After the game, Reijnders, the red-carded Rodri, and the error-prone Ajer all earned failing ratings of 5.9; Haaland, valued at 200 million euros, scored just 6.2. Losing to a Champions League underdog worth less than one-tenth of Man City’s squad value, Guardiola must take primary responsibility.

In my personal opinion, Guardiola should have been dismissed last season. Since his family tragedy, his coaching at Man City has hit a bottleneck, with continuous disasters and upsets. It’s time for Guardiola to step down...

Throughout the entire match,Man City held 66% possession, another classic case of fake control; they had 16 shots, twice as many as Bodø/Glimt’s 8, but both teams had 5 shots on target.There is no player in Guardiola’s Man City squad who can truly perform in tough battles anymore. Letting Alvarez go means no long-range shooter; in attack, Haaland lacks back-to-goal and aerial advantages. Man City is at a stage where rebuilding is necessary. With Haaland sleepwalking every game, it might be better to play without a striker. When matches go wrong, Guardiola habitually forgets to make substitutions; this game he made only one change despite having five available. Guardiola is no longer magical and should let go of the Blues...