Manchester City’s surprising 4-1 defeat to Sporting CP in Tuesday’s Champions League clash has cast a shadow over the team’s current form.
According to captain Bernardo Silva, the team is in a “dark place,” following what he described as a disappointing result that marks their third consecutive loss across all competitions — a rare occurrence last seen in 2018.
Sporting’s Swedish striker Viktor Gyökeres was the standout, scoring a hat trick that flipped the script after City initially took the lead.
Despite dominating the early stages and taking the lead through Phil Foden, City lost control after Gyökeres’ equalizer before halftime.
The second half saw an unexpected collapse from the reigning European champions, with Gyökeres capitalizing on City’s defensive lapses and netting two penalties, while City’s own spot-kick from Erling Haaland went astray, hitting the crossbar.
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Reflecting on the match, Silva said,
“In the beginning of the second half, we just gave them too many opportunities… we’re in a bit of a dark place right now.”
He emphasized the importance of self-reflection within the squad to address the recent issues and quickly get back on track.
Although City have been battling a series of injuries — missing key players like Rodri, Jack Grealish, Rúben Dias, and John Stones — Silva made it clear that the team needs to find solutions internally.
Adding to their difficult week, City were knocked out of the League Cup by Tottenham and saw their 32-match Premier League unbeaten streak end with a loss to Bournemouth.
While Silva admitted that it’s hard to pinpoint the exact reasons for their recent struggles, he remains optimistic that the squad can turn things around, especially as injured players return.
City’s next test comes this weekend as they face Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League, where they’ll aim to put an end to this uncharacteristic losing streak.
