Manchester City's recent run of defeats continued in Anfield on Sunday as they made it 6 defeats in their least 7 matches after goals from Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah gave the Reds a 2-0 win.
City never got out of the blocks as Liverpool were all over them in the early exchanges. By the time Cody Gakpo scored from a Salah cross after 12 minutes, Liverpool could've already had 2 or 3 goals to their name.
The onslaught continued for City as Liverpool looked like they could score from nearly every attack, they missed a plethora of chances throughout the match which had fans of the Reds worried that they'll rue missed opportunities.
However with just over 10 minutes of normal time remaining, Luis Diaz won a penalty after getting tripped by an oncoming Stefan Ortega, who was selected ahead of the dropped Ederson. Mohamed Salah converted from the spot to give the Kop a memorable win as they are now 9 points ahead of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table.
This recent run is by far the worst since Pep Guardiola took charge of City back in 2016 and more worryingly for their fans, there's very little hope that they'll get out of this funk anytime soon as their performances have been dismal to say the least.
Ruben Dias Splits Opinion With Combative Interview After Liverpool Loss
Things are obviously quite tense around Manchester City right now as their form is the talk of the football world. For a side that's been so dominant for most of the past 10 years, seeing them not just fail to win, but be thoroughly outplayed by teams they used to beat handedly, everyone wants to know what exactly is going wrong at City.
That's what former Swindon Town forward Jan Aage Fjortoft tried to get to the bottom of when he spoke with Ruben Dias following the Anfield defeat.
When speaking to Fjortoft and Viaplay, Dias brushed off a couple of Fjortoft's questions about why City lost to Liverpool and what's the cause of their recent run.
Well, analysis is easy right now, we have Nottingham, we want to win and that's what's on our minds.
Like I said to you, the only thing that's on our minds is that we want to win against Nottingham. Today the team showed a lot of character, obviously at the moment it's not easy to come here, always a difficult stadium to visit and the team showed a lot of character so Nottingham is on our minds now.
Fjortoft then asked what did the player do themselves when they're in a funk like city are currently in. Dias response has split opinion depending on which side of the City-Liverpool fence you sit on as Dias made it clear that the players know what they need to do to win.
You know you are talking to one of the players of one of the teams in the world that have won the most in recent years.
So, maybe have a think about that and be sure we know how to deal with it.
Dias then laid down a challenge to his teammates to see who were going to stand up in their next game against Nottingham Forest.
These are the ones that everyone wants to play, these ones we will always remember and these difficult circumstances for the stadium itself and for the moment we're going through. This is when you see the warriors you have next to you.
Ruben Dias speaking to the media after yesterdays loss to Liverpool… pic.twitter.com/CejNdWiGWn
— EPL Bible (@EPLBible) December 2, 2024
For some they felt that Dias answered the questions honestly and he showed great leadership in a time of difficulty for City.
Ruben Dias is absolute class, exactly the profile we need right now. Captain and an absolute wall pic.twitter.com/nAfjFkIYOF
— . (@Cfc_nicco) December 1, 2024
Thought it was brilliant from Dias. Not the usual media trained drivel & exactly what I’d want if it was my team. Clearly hurting and bit back a bit. If journalists want to go down that line of questioning they have to expect this from time to time IMO.
— Taylor (@Matthews2411) December 2, 2024
Meanwhile those on the other side felt that Dias was rattled by the questioning and didn't come off all too greatly with his answers.
The ‘know that you’re talking to…’ and ‘have a think…’ lines just stink of entitlement. Which is Man City all over under Guardiola.
Don’t think Jan asked him anything he shouldn’t have expected.
— JayCee (@JayCeeShirts) December 2, 2024
Never seen a 'professional' footballer 'Karen' before, but here we are!😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/3gWUej069y
— ChetLFC 🔴⚪🟡 (@ChetLFC) December 2, 2024
As it's been for the last month or so, it will still be interesting to see how City respond to this most recent setback. This is arguably the most adversity Pep Guardiola has been through in his entire managerial career and the craziest thing is, City are still only 5th.
It's very plausible that City go on one of their runs of winning 10+ games in a row but with Liverpool now 11 points ahead of them and looking unstoppable right now, a huge winning streak may not be enough.
