Pep Guardiola has urged Manchester City to reverse their alarming slump after a historic 3-1 Champions League defeat to Norwegian minnows Bodo/Glimt left their European and domestic campaigns in jeopardy.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola admitted his side must swiftly “change the dynamic” after suffering a historic and humiliating 3-1 defeat to Norwegian underdogs Bodo/Glimt on Tuesday night.
In one of the most significant upsets in Champions League history, Kasper Hogh’s first-half double and a spectacular second-half strike from Jens Petter Hauge left the 2023 European champions in tatters at the Aspmyra Stadion.
Rayan Cherki’s goal briefly offered a lifeline, but any hope of a comeback evaporated when Rodri was dismissed for two bookings in the space of a minute, marking City’s first ever winless trip to Norway in the competition.
Reflecting on the slump, Guardiola noted that “everything has started to be, since the new year, against us in many, many things,” as City grapple with 11 senior absences and a run of four Premier League games without a victory.
Despite the financial gulf between the clubs, Bodo/Glimt—hailing from a town whose entire population of 55,000 would barely fill the Etihad Stadium—outplayed their star-studded visitors to secure their first-ever Champions League group phase win.
Guardiola refused to underestimate the hosts, acknowledging, “I know how good a team Bodo are… they were fresh in mind,” while lamenting that his own squad arrived “fragile” and lacking the consistency provided by key unavailable players.
The defeat leaves City seventh in the standings, trailing seven points behind Arsenal domestically and facing a high-stakes final group game against Galatasaray to secure automatic qualification for the last 16.
Guardiola concluded by describing the current period as a fact of life where “everything that can be going wrong, is going wrong in many, many details,” insisting that the team must regroup immediately for their upcoming fixture against Wolves.