“We have to sit down” – Pep Guardiola provides honest reflection on Manchester City’s 2024/25 season | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has offered an honest reflection on a difficult campaign as a whole for both himself and his Etihad Stadium players.

The four-in-a-row Premier League champions failed to seriously challenge for a fifth in succession as a campaign of challenges on and off the field largely hindered Pep Guardiola from having the necessary options at his disposal.

A collective decision during the last summer transfer window held back the club from rebuilding as desired, with only Savinho and Ilkay Gundogan brought into the side at a relatively low cost, leaving City susceptible to a depleted roster should injuries occur.

Nobody could have expected the number of injuries that were struck upon Manchester City, however, with Rodri and Oscar Bobb sidelined for several months with serious problems, and other stars succumbing to reoccurrences of long-standing issues.

Speaking during a new exchange with ESPN Brasil as part of the second series of ‘Premier League Encounters’ on Disney+, Guardiola has looked back on what will be his worst season as a Manchester City manager in terms of results – which could yet end with FA Cup success.

“It was a year of great learning. There is not just one reason why this year was difficult, there are many details, like wrong decisions made for me. So, it has been a year of great learning for me, personally,” Guardiola admitted.

The 54-year-old continued to reflect, “People think we learn more from defeats than from victories. But I also think I learn from victories.

“I knew there would be a moment when we would fall, but we fell a lot. We didn’t expect to be so far, but we can’t win them all.

“What we did during 10, nine years was exceptional, but now we have to sit down and learn to try to understand what we need to produce in the future.”

Manchester City still have three Premier League matches remaining this season in which the club will no doubt understand their importance as they continue to go in search of a top-five finish in the Premier League.

Results elsewhere meant City’s 1-0 win over Wolves on Friday night secured them third-place for another weekend as Newcastle United were held to a 1-1 draw away to Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday.

There is also an FA Cup Final still to come for the Etihad Stadium side as they make their third visit to Wembley this season following on from a Community Shield win over Manchester United and success over Nottingham Forest in the semi-final stage of the aforementioned Cup.