Manchester City has seen a consistent trend throughout the season: a strong first half, only to fall short in the second half.
City have been throwing away leads for fun since January, losing further to leaders Arsenal in the Premier League title race, most recently conceding two goals in the second half of a 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend.
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The Blues face Newcastle United on Wednesday night, looking to seal a place in the Carabao Cup final after holding a two-goal advantage over Eddie Howe’s side in the first leg at St James’ Park a few weeks ago.
Pep Guardiola’s side then face a must-win league clash away at Liverpool, with Arsenal risking their exit from the spotlight if Manchester City fail to beat Arne Slott and his side on their own ground on Sunday night.
City have won one of their last six Premier League games and have drawn three consecutive draws with Sunderland, Chelsea and Brighton since 2026 – before dropping more points against Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur to cast huge doubts over their title prospects at the end of the season.
Speaking to reporters ahead of Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg between Manchester City and Newcastle United, Guardiola was asked about his side’s second-half performance.
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“The reality is that in the second half we lost what we had in the first half, maybe because this is a young team, a younger team than ten years ago, and maybe we need to survive,” Guardiola said after throwing away a two-goal lead against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
“Maybe we stop trying to do what we did in the first half. We have to grow.”
Guardiola has been dealing with key absences from the backline over the last month, with Ruben Dias and Josco Gvardiol unavailable since coming off injured in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea on January 4.
Dias has returned to training this week and is understood to be targeting a return against Liverpool at Anfield, but there are no expectations for the 28-year-old’s performance against Newcastle United at home in midweek.
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With Gwadiol expected to be out until April or May after undergoing surgery on a fractured right tibia, Guardiola is increasingly relying on Abdelkodil Kusanov, academy graduate Max Alleyne and January signing centre-back Guhi.
Manchester City will need to gain some momentum as the season progresses if they are to reverse their recent fortunes in the Premier League, with Arsenal currently in pole position, seven points clear at the top of the table and on course to win a first league title in 22 years.
