Man City in 'full-blown crisis' after Guardiola sparks Haaland v Onana argument
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Man City are in a “full-blown crisis” after Pep Guardiola created an argument between Erling Haaland and Amadou Onana, according to Kris Boyd.
The struggling manager intervened between the pair following Aston Villa’s 2-1 victory on 21 December, seemingly causing a dispute where there wasn’t one.
Defeat at Villa Park extended the historic slide for the reigning champions under Guardiola and Boyd believes there are behind-the-scenes issues yet to come out.
The pundit said live on Sky Sports Soccer Special (5.53pm): “It’s a full-blown crisis there’s no doubt about it. We thought there was a dib but Manchester City are in a bad place right now…
“Because of what Pep Guardiola has done in the past, what the club has done, you’re a little bit hesitant to criticise… but it’s getting to the stage where there is questions needing to be asked [of the manager].
“He ended up, Haaland and Onana were speaking at the end of the game, like speaking. He ends up going into try and separate them as if there was an argument there and it ends up being an argument with them. Don’t get involved.
“You’ve got someone that can score goals the way that Haaland does, zero created, and you’ve got Kevin De Bruyne sitting on the bench, never brought him on.
“There’s not a lot of things that get out of big clubs, but you get the feeling there’s something bubbling under the bonnet at Manchester City because it doesn’t look happy.”
Man City need to back Pep Guardiola in January
Football Insider opinion
Goals from Jhon Duran and former City academy player Morgan Rogers gave Villa a 2-1 victory over the reigning champions, despite a late consolation goal from Phil Foden.
The defeat means Guardiola's side has now lost nine of their last 12 matches, including the Manchester derby.
Losing Rodri has forced the coach to experiment with alternatives, such as deploying Ilkay Gundogan, but a significant gap remains in the Spaniard’s absence.
There have been persistent links to a potential central midfielder like Bruno Guimarães, but it's unclear if he is still a viable option [Manchester Evening News]. Instead, reports suggest the club is considering stop-gap signings, with an unusual link to Paul Pogba emerging.
Pressure is mounting to bring in reinforcements, as the poor form has left City ten points adrift of the top of the table. They are also just one point away from automatic elimination in the Champions League, further emphasising the need for squad depth.
Haaland is understandably frustrated. While he remains the Premier League's top scorer with 13 goals, he has managed just one goal in his last six appearances across all competitions.
The decision to sell Julián Álvarez without signing a replacement forward has drawn criticism, and it remains to be seen whether City will target an attacker in the transfer market.
In other news, Man City are plotting a move to sign a Crystal Palace star.
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