Manager says team are getting many of the little details wrong
Pep Guardiola says his side are “fragile” and are getting things wrong in many areas, after following up their defeat at the Manchester derby at the weekend with a battering against Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League on Tuesday.
City lost 3-1 in Norway, going 2-0 down in the first half and then 3-0 down in the second as Bodo defended without possession for most of the game and then repeatedly hit their opponents on the counter. Rayan Cherki’s consolation goal proved scant comfort on a night when midfielder Rodri also saw red after illegally stopping two counter attacks within a minute of each other in the second half.
“Today was an incredible opportunity for us but everything is going wrong, going against us in many details,” said Guardiola. “That’s a fact and we have to try to change it. The players are there and we tried.
“I don’t have any doubt that in this competition, nothing is for granted, that’s for sure. United were better than us [Saturday]. Today it was momentum that punished us.”
Guardiola had accepted his side were second-best against their local rivals in the league on Saturday and it appeared to be the same against Bodo, a team playing in the Norwegian league and 27th in the Champions League table, and whose victory over City will go down as one of the biggest giant-killing events in the history of the competition.
“We arrived in some departments without important players who give consistency to the team,” Guardiola said. “They are a little bit fragile, [as] they were last season in a certain period.
“How they fought 10 against 11, a lot of players made a step up, but we have to change the dynamic quick for the next game against Wolves and after that the last [European league phase] game against Galatasaray.”
Guardiola was unwilling to blame Rodri for the yellow cards in quick succession that saw the midfielder sent off just after the hour.
“It was a difficult situation,” Guardiola said. “We lost the ball. We made a transition, but they are fast and sometimes you react. It’s little bit soft, the second one, but it is what it is.”
Much like in Manchester, forward Erling Haaland was caged again by Bodo. The Norwegian has now failed to score a non-penalty goal in his last eight games. He recorded only 14 touches on the night, although he missed a clear chance to score in the first half after fluffing an attempted shot.
“I don’t have the answers,” Haaland said. “I take full responsibility of not being able to score the goals I should do. I just apologise to everyone; every single Man City supporter and every single supporter that travelled today, because in the end it’s embarrassing.
“Bodo they played some incredible football and in the end it’s deserved. Honestly, I don’t know what to say because I don’t have the answers, and what I can say is sorry.”
