By Tai Emeka Obasi
The season is only halfway gone, and football history reminds us that narratives can flip quickly. All it takes is a sustained winning run. Aston Villa just put together an 11-game surge and suddenly found themselves within three points of the league leaders, despite a shaky start to the campaign.
Manchester City could still do the same, after all, they are only five points off the pace, potentially eight if Arsenal dispatch Liverpool at the Emirates later. And yet, despite possessing the most fearsome goal-scoring machine in Europe in Erling Haaland, something about this City side feels unfamiliar. It lacks the unmistakable Guardiola imprint.
That exquisite possession-based identity, the compact midfield control, and the near-impregnable defensive structure that once defined Guardiola’s teams no longer appear sacrosanct. City now look open in ways that would have been unthinkable at their peak.
In a title race this tight, Guardiola’s side inexplicably surrendered six valuable points through three consecutive draws, two of them at the Etihad, once regarded as an impenetrable fortress.
More troubling than the dropped points is how easily opponents now play with courage against them. Teams of modest standing attack City without fear, creating chances with an audacity rarely afforded Guardiola-managed sides in the past.
Equally striking is the diminishing impact of his in-game interventions. Guardiola’s substitutions and tactical tweaks, once decisive weapons, no longer consistently tilt matches in City’s favour. His touchline demeanour, once a source of clarity and control, now appears restless and uncertain, reinforcing the sense of a manager searching for answers rather than imposing his will.
On Wednesday night, Guardiola watched helplessly from the touchline as Brighton and Hove Albion took a deserved point off City, a result that handed Arsenal the opportunity to stretch their lead to eight points with a win over Liverpool 24 hours later. It was indeed a frustrating night for City supporters, but football followers across the world would have sensed something deeper…the possibility that either Guardiola or Manchester City is approaching the end of an era… or perhaps both.
Guardiola has walked this road before. When his ideas began to feel repetitive or exhausted, he chose reflection over stubbornness, stepping away to reset both mind and method. If the current trend persists, the former Barcelona manager may need to consider another sabbatical…for his own sake, and for that of the millions of fans across the football world who have come to revere his genius.