Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has come out fighting as he contemplates his side’s worst sequence of results since 2018.
The 4-1 Champions League defeat by Sporting in Lisbon was City’s third loss in a row.
Only once during Guardiola’s reign have City lost three times in a row in a single season.
Although he rejected skipper Bernardo Silva’s post-match assertion that the club is currently in a “dark place”, Guardiola also accepted after a defeat of this size, words are largely meaningless.
However, he is not backing away from the challenge.
“We knew it would be a tough season at the start,” he said. “I like it. I love it. I want to face it and lift my players.
“I won’t give up, that’s for sure.”
Few will have sympathy with City over their current injury issues.
Guardiola’s decision to hand a first start to FA Youth Cup-winning skipper Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, a day after his 19th birthday and less than a week after his senior debut, underlined the issues he is dealing with in central defence.
Neither John Stones nor Ruben Dias made the trip, while Nathan Ake remained on the substitutes bench throughout.
Rico Lewis played at right-back in the absence of skipper Kyle Walker and Kevin de Bruyne was only risked for the final six minutes.
Defensive midfielder Rodri is, of course, out for the season.
Guardiola says the current experience feels like his debut campaign in 2016-17, when City struggled for consistency and were fifth after a 4-0 defeat at Everton in January before embarking on a run of one loss in 17 league games, which eventually led them to finish in third spot.
“It happened in my first year,” he said. “Sometimes it does.
“I have to try to find an explanation but sometimes it’s just football so you have to accept it. Sport is that. Life is that. Sometimes we have bad moments but we face the reality.
“Everyone has to try to be better and we will find it. We are still alive in all competitions and we continue.”
City have another tough away trip to Brighton on Saturday.
It is not entirely clear who Guardiola will have available but he will be desperate to avoid a fourth straight reverse.
For Silva, it is a tough time.
“It’s difficult to find the reasons why what is happening to us now,” he said. “In seven and a half seasons, I don’t remember three in a row.
“We’re in a dark place. Everything looks to be going the wrong way.
“The good thing is even though we lost three games we’re in good positions in the Premier League and Champions League. We’re still fighting for everything, but we need to do better. It’s just not good enough at the minute.”
City are second in the Premier League, two points behind leaders Liverpool but four clear of third-placed Nottingham Forest and sixth in the expanded Champions League table.
However, they are likely to drop outside the top eight when the second set of matches in the fourth round of fixtures are played.
Nevertheless, at least they are competing, unlike Manchester United, which Guardiola pointed out when he was asked about the prospect of coming up against Ruben Amorim when he moves in at Old Trafford next week.
“Yes, he will be United manager and we will face him two times in the Premier League and maybe the FA Cup. In the Champions League it is not possible.”
Watch highlights of every Champions League game from 22:00 on Wednesday on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.
There will also be a Champions League Match of the Day on BBC One on Wednesday, from 22:40 to 00:00.
