- City went down 2-1 to Brighton as Guardiola hit unwanted record in his career
- The Spaniard admitted ‘there is always a first time in life’ on the back of the loss
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A defiant Pep Guardola insisted ‘there is always a first time in life’ after he fell to a fourth consecutive defeat for the first time in his managerial career but stressed he had ‘no doubt’ that Manchester City would return to their best.
Brighton came from behind to beat City with Joao Pedro cancelling out Erling Haaland‘s first-half opener before Matt O’Riley scored the winner on his Premier League debut for Fabian Hurzeler’s side.
‘There is always a first time in life,’ said Guardiola, ‘Normally, people lose games. This is my challenge. I love a challenge. I won’t step back. More than ever, I want to do it.
‘When my players come back (from injury), I have no doubt that we will be back at our best,’ the City boss added.
On Sky Sports, Jamie Redknapp described City’s second-half performance as ‘one of the worst halves of football‘ that he had seen from a Pep Guardiola side.
Pep Guardiola has insisted that Manchester City will get back to their best after latest loss
Premier League champions City lost for the fourth game in a row as Brighton beat them 2-1
Matt O’Riley scored the winner to condemn Guardiola to a fourth-consecutive loss for the first time in his career
It’s the first time City have lost four games in a row since August 2006, when Stuart Pearce was manager of the club. But Guardiola refused to see it as a sign of City’s dominance – after winning six of the last seven Premier League titles – coming to an end.
‘It’s what the people want. We are not finished yet. It’s normal because we win a lot. It happens. Under Jurgen (Klopp), Liverpool after winning the Champions League and Premier League had Virgil van Dijk injured and went to the Europa League,’ said Guardiola.
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler insisted that his side ‘can beat anyone’ after victory put Brighton in the top four.
‘The half-time message was to be more patient, to have more self-belief and to have more courage. It’s more about how the players reacted in the second half with the self-commitment of turning this game and the self-belief they can beat anyone and they showed that,’ said the 31-year-old said. ‘Unfortunately a win over City only gives three points but we should be proud. The club should take the belief from this that they are able to beat everyone and compete with the establishment.’
