Gary Neville has let loose on Manchester City after they lost for the fifth game in a row against Tottenham on Saturday.
City were humbled at home as they lost 4-0 against Ange Postecolgou’s side, with James Maddison netting a brace and Pedro Porro and Brennan Johnson also scoring in the rout.
It was the fifth loss in a row for City in all competitions, including three Premier League matches, and they could fall as far as eight points behind Liverpool on Sunday ahead of a trip to Anfield next weekend.
The champions are struggling with injury issues, with Ballon d’Or winner Rodri out for the rest of the season and his understudy, Mateo Kovacic, also out for a month through injury.
But the issues appear to be deeper than that, with City looking a shadow of their former selves on Saturday with no sign of the rut ending any time soon.
And Neville, speaking on Sky Sports, gave damming verdict of the champions’ current situation, suggesting it’s pretty much the worst they have ever had it under Pep Guardiola.
Gary Neville has insisted that Manchester City are in ‘decline’ on the back of their latest defeat
Pep Guardiola’s side went down 4-0 to Tottenham on Sunday – their fifth defeat in a row
Neville claimed that City are in the worst state they have been in since Guardiola’s first season
‘We’ve seen City lose the odd game here, but we’ve very rarely seen them outplayed in every department, but that’s what we’re watching,’ the pundit said. ‘They look well short. As short as I’ve seen them since Pep’s first season.
I’ve not seen them as bad as this, how they’ve been in the last few weeks. He will have wanted that international break to come, thinking it would be a reset moment. But now here, it further entrenches the opinion this is a City side currently in decline.
‘It seems madness, when you think about what they’ve achieved. They’re easy to play against and teams are encouraged when playing them. The vulnerabilities are clear for everyone to see.’
Fans have been quick to point towards the absence of Rodri, with City’s loss ratio under three per cent when he has played since February 2023 and now over 35 per cent when he hasn’t.
But he is not coming back any time soon, and the back-up options of Ilkay Gundogan and Rico Lewis in midfield struggled to perform against Spurs.
Gundogan came under fire for his efforts for the opening goal by Jamie Redknapp, but there is a packed schedule coming up and City are in need of a solution to their midfield woes.
The issues root far deeper, though, Neville insisted, and it may not be a quick fix for City to reach the heights they were previously at.
City have suffered injury issues, but the issues root deeper than that, Neville declared
Tottenham played City off the park, and the champions could fall eight points behind Liverpool
Neville declared that it would be ‘Pep’s greatest Premier League’ if they win the title this year
‘This is more than just Rodri, far more,’ he said. ‘When you’re on the decline – and I hate to use the word decline, but it does feel like it – it’s a group of players with a number of things [going wrong].
‘The idea of growing slightly old together, the idea of playing the volume of games together, the physical and mental demands of that, and the third thing is how many times you can keep going.
‘It’s a group of players who have run a million miles. They’ve been sensational. But they’ve become a little bit punch-drunk. Leggy, lacking in energy, they’ve lost players and a couple of vital players out through injury.
‘It’s a big game next week, Liverpool vs City, and there’s only a few points in it, there’s a long way to go, but it feels like today, if Man City were to win the title this season, I think it would be Pep’s greatest Premier League.’
