Manchester City resumed their 2024/25 Premier League campaign in the worst way possible.
After getting through the November international break – prior to which they lost four games in a row – City were thrashed 4-0 by Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium.
For a final blow, Brennan Johnson scored the fourth and final match of the game in injury time, which led to Pep Guardiola’s side becoming the first reigning top-flight champions to lose five games in a row in all competitions since Chelsea in March 1956.
After the game, a pundit and former Premier League player took it upon himself to share what he considers to be the main problems the Blues have at the moment.
Jamie Redknapp lists Man City issues after Tottenham embarrassment
Speaking on Sky Sports after the match, Jamie Redknapp gave this extensive assessment of what’s wrong with City at the moment and the problems they’re facing.
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He said: “Man City are too easy to play against. Everyone will talk about Rodri because of the impact that he has but it isn’t just him. There’s [Mateo] Kovacic, Ruben Dias, who is a leader in the back four, they miss him.
“[Kevin] De Bruyne is in and out of the team – not at his best. [Julian] Alvarez is a massive blow to this team where you could bring him on.
“Man City are off it, they are short. Things aren’t quite clicking.
Redknapp then went on to add this (via Sky Sports) about some of the players City did have on the pitch against Spurs.
“[Ilkay] Gundogan couldn’t get around the pitch, he couldn’t near anybody. The balance wasn’t right with [Phil] Foden, [Bernardo] Silva and [Rico] Lewis.
“The fact you can’t score a goal against the two centre-backs of Davies and Dragusin, that’s the biggest worry. They didn’t have a clinical edge.”
City can attempt to fix these problems in January
With the January transfer window approaching, City can use the winter market to strengthen their squad.
After Rodri suffered a season-ending injury back in September, Guardiola said a midfielder could be signed in January as a replacement for the Spaniard.
With Redknapp also mentioning the absence of Alvarez following his summer transfer move to Atletico Madrid, it was reported earlier this month that City could sign a backup striker in January.
However, with City having a significant number of crucial Premier League and Champions League games to get through before the January transfer window opens, this will be the club’s main focus before their attention can be turned to the winter market period.