Pep Guardiola calm despite consecutive league defeats

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola wants his side to “move forward” after recording consecutive Premier League defeats for the first time since 2018.

Gabriel Martinelli’s late goal handed Arsenal victory at Emirates Stadium on Sunday – City’s third domestic loss in a row.

Newcastle – in the Carabao Cup – and Wolves have both beaten last season’s Treble winners in recent weeks.

“It’s football, we lost the game,” Guardiola told BBC Sport.

“Maybe we need to go a little bit behind [in the league] for our contenders, after what happened in the past.

“We are in October. And people say this year it is not going to happen. No team in all history of the Premier League has won four in a row.

“In my experience, this is a long, long road. Time to come back stronger and go for it again.”

The absence of key midfielder Rodri has coincided with the Premier League champions’ dip in form.

The Spaniard, who was handed a three-match suspension for his dismissal against Nottingham Forest, has missed all three of the recent defeats but returned to the team in midweek, where they won 3-1 at RB Leipzig in the Champions League.

“He is an important player,” said Guardiola.

“But if he is not there, for the reason we know, we have to move forward and find solutions.

“He is an important player, for the personality, for the character, the presence [he brings].”

‘These moments define a team’

City midfielder Bernardo Silva believes that while the recent results are a “setback” for City, a similar story played out last campaign.

“Last season we won the Treble and there was a point in the season where nothing was going our way,” said the 29-year-old.

“You have these moments, it is about how you overcome these moments that define the team and what you are and what you can achieve by the end of the season.

“We are going to keep fighting for all of the games.”