Sports
After three successive defeats, are Manchester City in crisis?
After Manchester City’s 4-1 defeat to Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League on Tuesday evening, Bernardo Silva said that his side were “in a dark place”, although Pep Guardiola did not agree.
The City boss pointed out that his side had played very well for the most part, as they did when exiting the Carabao Cup at Tottenham last week. Guardiola is not blind to City’s issues, though, admitting that they were not good enough in defeat at Bournemouth at the weekend and that they struggled to contain Sporting’s counter-attacks.
Guardiola has been largely satisfied with his side’s efforts in recent matches. Where some saw narrow victories against Fulham, Wolves and Southampton as fortunate, the City manager has been pleased with their fight and desire to get the job done.
But there’s no getting away from the fact that, over the past week, City have lost three times. Add to that the manner of Tuesday’s defeat, plus Bernardo’s comment and there’s a hint of crisis about the club right now. So here’s an inquest into just what has been going wrong.
(Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP via Getty Images)
The injuries
The obvious place to start is the injuries.
Ballon D’Or winner Rodri is the biggest and most obvious loss, compounded by fellow midfielder Kevin De Bruyne missing almost two months. Various other players have dropped out recently, including Ruben Dias, Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku. The biggest problems flow from there, although in the wake of the Sporting defeat, there have been complaints among supporters about the club’s recruitment — or lack thereof — over the past two years.
(Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)
Whatever the rights and wrongs of City’s approach to the transfer market, they have been hit with a significant number of injuries at the same time and that has had an obvious knock-on effect.
Combined with the fact that others, like Ilkay Gundogan and Phil Foden (who is improving week by week), have not been playing at their peak level, it is perhaps no surprise that some of the team’s recent performances, even when victorious, have looked a little underwhelming.
A soft centre
Guardiola’s answer when he spots a weakness in his team, not least when Rodri is not available, is to fill the midfield with ball players and instruct them to make as many passes as possible to wrestle control of the game and build from there. That was exactly what they did in Lisbon on Tuesday night, and with Rico Lewis, Mateo Kovacic, Bernardo and Gundogan, they have players who are very accomplished at keeping the ball.
The problem is that those players are not especially athletic when it comes to winning the ball back or even chasing it back, and that was also evident against Sporting, leaving the defence — missing Lewis because he was pushed up from right-back — exposed.
That is why Tuesday’s game was a curious one. City played well but were also well beaten. In another sense, it was easy to explain: they played well with the ball, did not take their chances and were weak on the break. Fulham, Wolves and Bournemouth, as well as Spurs in the Carabao Cup, have been able to exploit opportunities on transitions.
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Those issues are exacerbated when those charged with keeping safe control of the ball start to give it away easily, which has also been happening for a while now. Gundogan has yet to rediscover his best form since returning in the summer, Lewis is at times imprecise and Kovacic — the main fulcrum of the team in Rodri’s absence — embodies City’s recent form in that he does many things well within matches but can be very easily beaten, and fail to recover, as Sporting’s second goal highlighted.
(Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP via Getty Images)
This trend has had some fans crying out for a different approach, which results in something of a vicious circle. Guardiola’s solution to these problems is more passes, more control, and he has a sound supporting argument: if City are vulnerable to fast breaks, then why not try to limit them as much as possible?
Some will argue that if the fast breaks are not being limited, why don’t the team fight fire with fire and try to be a bit more direct and play with more pace in the middle? That is a debate for another day but, in short, when most teams sit deep against City and do not allow them space to play, there is not really anywhere to break into.
The shorter and blunter answer is that we already know that Guardiola just will not consider it.
Lack of goals
This is quite the statement about the Premier League’s second-highest scorers (behind Spurs) but they do seem to be lacking goals, which is something that Guardiola acknowledged on Tuesday. “We have to do a lot to score,” he said.
The thing about the start of the season, when, in fairness, City looked very good without Rodri, was that Erling Haaland was breaking records left, right and centre, so very few people noticed that hardly anybody else was scoring, or needed to score.
John Stones has recorded some important last-gasp strikes, Josko Gvardiol is doing his bit from the back and Kovacic has contributed — but too often in matches, there is a lack of bite in the final third, which was the case on Tuesday night. And when there’s the frailty in midfield mentioned in the previous section, it adds up to the kind of problems we are seeing.
Haaland has failed to score in six of his last 10 appearances for City in all competitions (Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP via Getty Images)
On the wings, City have players who are superb in bringing the ball up to and into the box — but who lack an end product inside it. In fairness to Savinho, he could have had three excellent assists against Southampton only for others to squander the chances, and the Brazilian has started his City career well but at the moment he is not a goal threat — and neither is Doku.
Grealish is out of the picture again but, by his own admission, has never been a goalscorer, while Matheus Nunes is playing well of late on the left wing but rarely brings goals.
City have scored four times from corners in the Premier League this season, which is more than any other team, although they have also taken the most: 98. Their conversion rate from corners is the sixth-best in the league, which is respectable, but four goals from 98 corners ties into the idea that they have to do a lot to score, especially when rivals such as Arsenal spend so much time and effort on set plays.
It does feel like City are in a gloomy place at the moment, but that comment from Bernardo is reminiscent of a similarly worrying message from Gundogan, 18 months ago. “I feel like something is missing, something’s off,” he said in January 2023. “At the minute, there’s a special recipe missing — performances, the desire and hunger is not as in recent years.” And that season ended pretty well.
It would be a stretch to suggest another treble is around the corner but that Gundogan quote should help to put things into perspective. The best way for City to do that is to put things right against Brighton on Saturday evening.
With Tottenham and Liverpool coming up after the November international break, City are going to need to tighten up in defence and midfield and start taking some more chances when they arrive.
It’s rare for a mini-crisis to develop into a major problem at City, but this is a side who are more vulnerable than we’ve seen them for some time.
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(Top photo: Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP via Getty Images)
Philadelphia Eagles star Saquon Barkley entered the record books with his performance in a 37-20 over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night.
Barkley rushed for 255 yards and two touchdowns in the win. He set a record for the most rushing yards in a single game by an Eagles player and finished with the ninth most in a single game. He was four yards away from passing Jamaal Charles, who had 259 rushing yards in a single game. Adrian Peterson has the record with 296 yards.
Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half of an NFL football game in Inglewood, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Barkley, who has had a resurgence this season, was the sparkplug Philadelphia needed. He ran for a 70-yard touchdown to jumpstart the team coming out of halftime.
He put the exclamation point on the game in the fourth quarter. He received the hand off from Hurts, made a move and zoomed through the Rams’ secondary for 72 yards.
Barkley also had four catches for 47 yards.
Kenneth Gainwell added a touchdown of his own late in the third to add to their lead.
Jalen Hurts was 15-of-22 for 179 yards and had a touchdown pass to A.J. Brown. The star wide receiver had six catches for 109 yards.
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Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) passes against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half of an NFL football game in Inglewood, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Los Angeles was within six points of the lead after Matthew Stafford threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson with 10:51 left in the third quarter. But after the Gainwell touchdown, the Rams missed a field goal on their next drive and punted after that.
Stafford threw a garbage-time touchdown to Cooper Kupp but the offense was far from what it needed to be to compete against the high-octane offense of the Eagles. They had no answer for Barkley.
The veteran quarterback had 243 passing yards on 24-of-36 passing. Puka Nacua led the team with nine catches for 117 yards. It’s the second straight game Nacua was over 100 yards receiving.
The Eagles (9-2) increased their NFC East lead over the Washington Commanders, moving two wins over them in the win column. The Commanders fell to the Dallas Cowboys in a barnburner earlier in the day.
Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay watches from the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Inglewood, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Los Angeles fell to 5-6 as the NFC West continued to be as competitive as ever. The Seattle Seahawks picked up a win over the Arizona Cardinals while the San Francisco 49ers fell to the Green Bay Packers.
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The Dodgers’ World Series trophy was in the house. So was Olympic gold medalist Jordan Chiles.
Also on hand Sunday night at SoFi Stadium were members of the St. Louis Rams’ 1999 Super Bowl championship team, including four Hall of Fame players from an offense known as “The Greatest Show on Turf.”
Despite their presence, the Rams demonstrated once again that they cannot yet be considered championship material — not at least with what consistently has been a less-than-great offense and a defense that got steamrolled by Philadelphia Eagles star running back Saquon Barkley.
Barkley amassed 302 total yards as the Eagles rolled past the Rams 37-20 before a crowd of 74,400 — about half of them Eagles fans.
The defeat dropped the Rams’ record to 5-6. Though unimpressive, it is not a death knell for the Rams’ playoff hopes, especially with the Arizona Cardinals (6-5) and San Francisco 49ers (5-6) both losing Sunday.
The Rams have six games left, starting next Sunday at New Orleans.
Rams cornerback Cobie Durant trips up Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts in the second quarter.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
They then will face the Buffalo Bills at home before traveling to play the 49ers in a key NFC West game. They finish with a road game against the New York Jets and home games against the Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks (6-5).
The Rams probably won’t be bound for the postseason, however, unless they eliminate momentum-killing turnovers, protect Stafford better and become more consistent in the kicking game.
On Sunday, a Rams defense that had performed fairly well in a defeat by the Miami Dolphins and a victory over the New England Patriots could not handle Barkley. The seventh-year pro rushed for 255 yards in 26 carries and scored on runs of 70 and 72 yards in the second half. He caught four passes for 47 yards as the Eagles won their seventh game in a row and improved to 9-2.
Stafford completed 24 of 36 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns on a night the Rams went 0 for 8 on third down. Stafford was sacked five times
Puka Nacua caught nine passes for 117 yards. Cooper Kupp caught eight passes for 60 yards and a touchdown.
A.J. Brown catches a touchdown pass past Rams safety Quentin Lake to give the Eagles the halftime lead.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
The Rams led 7-3 in the first quarter on Kyren Williams’ short touchdown run, but the Eagles kicked a field goal and scored a touchdown on a pass from Jalen Hurts to receiver A.J. Brown to take a 13–7 lead at halftime.
Minutes after the 1990s band Smash Mouth played at halftime, Barkley smashed the Rams in the mouth.
On the first play of the third quarter, he took a handoff from Hurts, broke through the line of scrimmage and cut the right sideline en route to a 70-yard touchdown that increased the Eagles’ halftime lead to 20-7.
The Rams answered with Stafford’s short touchdown pass to receiver Demarcus Robinson.
Then Barkley struck again.
He caught a short pass from Hurts and turned it into a 31-yard gain to the Rams’ 14-yard line. On the next play, Kenneth Gainwell rushed for a touchdown and a 27-14 lead.
On the ensuing possession, the Rams drove to the Eagles’ 15 but after a holding penalty and a sack, Joshua Karty missed wide right on a 47-yard field goal attempt.
The Eagles added a field goal, and late in the fourth quarter Barkley broke free again for a 72-yard touchdown.
The Rams added a late touchdown on a 27-yard pass from Stafford to Kupp.
NORMAN, Okla. — No. 7 Alabama (8-3) saw its College Football Playoff and SEC title hopes take a big hit in a 24-3 loss to Oklahoma (6-5) at OU Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
Alabama QB Jalen Milroe completed just two passes in the first half before finishing 11-for-26 for 164 yards, zero touchdowns and three interceptions. The Crimson Tide’s first two drives of the third quarter resulted in Milroe interceptions, the second of which was returned 49 yards for a touchdown by Oklahoma’s Kip Lewis. Oklahoma outgained Alabama 325 yards to 234, driven largely by the Sooners’ 257 rushing yards.
“We finally did the things that winning requires,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said after the game. “All three phases, they complemented each other. They punched first and punched back. Tonight, we finally punched last.”
This was the lowest-scoring output for the Crimson Tide since a 20-3 loss to South Carolina in 2004. Alabama hasn’t lost to an unranked team by 21-plus points since the 1998 Music City Bowl against Virginia Tech (38-7).
The Crimson Tide are 1-3 on the road against SEC opponents this season, while the Sooners secured their first Power 4 win since Sept. 28 against Auburn.
“The harder it is, the more epic the story.”
Brent Venables after @OU_Football‘s win over No. 7 Alabama 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Dytz9r0FQa
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) November 24, 2024
What does this mean for Alabama’s postseason hopes?
The Tide no longer control their own destiny and are now a Playoff long shot. They had the inside path to the CFP as the second-highest-ranked SEC team, with a 5-5 Oklahoma team and 4-6 Auburn team left on the schedule. That’s all been blown up.
CFP-wise, the Tide will now fall behind Georgia, which won Saturday and has just two losses, as well as Tennessee, which has a win against Alabama. Losses by Indiana, Ole Miss, BYU, Texas A&M and Colorado on Saturday could help the Tide from falling too far back and keep them on the fringes of the at-large mix, but getting a first-round home is off the table. The big winner from Saturday’s madness could be the ACC’s hopes of getting two bids. According to The Athletic’s projections model, Alabama fell from a 76 percent chance to make the Playoff before Week 13 to just an 11 percent chance after the loss to Oklahoma.
Alabama’s SEC championship hopes are also gone with three conference losses. Georgia will meet the winner of Texas-Texas A&M in Atlanta.
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What does this mean for Oklahoma?
It’s been a rough season for the Sooners, who hadn’t won a game against an FBS opponent since September, but getting to bowl eligibility and a marquee win on Senior Night has to feel good. For as bad as the year has gone, through all the quarterback problems and offensive issues, the defense kept playing hard and kept the Sooners in games. Two interceptions led directly to 14 points, including a pick-six to go up three scores.
Oklahoma’s 257 rushing yards were the most allowed by Alabama this year. Quarterback Jackson Arnold didn’t do much in the passing game (68 yards total), but he didn’t have to. The offensive coordinator search remains ongoing, and the Sooners can’t have another season like this, but it’s something to feel good about as Venables heads into an offseason needing to fix the program.
Kip doesn’t like teams from Alabama…@KipLewis9 | #OUDNA pic.twitter.com/jCLU5BjI6G
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) November 24, 2024
An all-too-familiar fate for Alabama on the road this season
Vanderbilt. Tennessee. Now Oklahoma. Alabama’s three road losses have a common thread: costly turnovers. The latest misfortunes came in a game that might have eliminated the Tide from the Playoff.
Three second-half interceptions by Milroe arrived at critical times. Milroe’s 11-for-26 passing stat line with three turnovers mark his worst performance of the season. It was one part of an all-around, flat offensive performance — 234 yards, just 70 on the ground, and only 4.1 yards per play.
Oklahoma’s top-ranked rushing defense was keyed in on Milroe-designed runs from the start, allowing three rushing yards on his first eight carries. Milroe finished with just seven rushing yards on 15 attempts while Jam Miller and Justice Haynes combined for 15 carries total. Without that element, Alabama’s offense couldn’t establish any momentum. It didn’t hurt that there were a myriad of mental errors that cost the offense positive plays from drops, missed assignments and penalties.
Defensively, Saturday’s loss felt similar to Alabama’s first road loss at Vanderbilt — out-played at the line of scrimmage and out-game planned against a sound rushing attack. Despite an 83rd national rank in rush offense, Oklahoma gained over 250 yards on the ground, 128 of them by quarterback Jackson Arnold, who only passed for 68 yards.
It was a summation of Alabama’s season to date — dominant at times, appearing capable of playing with anyone, and other times disjointed where errors compile on each other which creates sometimes insurmountable deficits. There’s no other way to look at Saturday’s game as a collapse in a crucial spot, but not a moment that’s been unfamiliar this season-highs followed by lows.
How did Oklahoma win the game? Turning its season on its head
Oklahoma’s season has been marred by misfortune, but Saturday night had all of the elements for a top-10 upset. The Sooners were off by a bye, hosting Alabama on Senior Night with bowl eligibility on the line. On the field, Oklahoma turned its weaknesses into strengths.
Oklahoma entered Saturday night having given up the most sacks (41) and fourth-most tackles for loss (80) in the country. Saturday? Zero sacks allowed and four tackles for loss allowed.
Oklahoma entered Saturday with the 86th-ranked rushing offense in the country (143 yards per game). Saturday? 270 rushing yards on 2.3 yards per carry.
Oklahoma entered Saturday ranked 73rd in turnover margin (minus-1) and 107th in turnovers lost (18). Saturday? Oklahoma won the turnover battle by a plus-1 margin and scored 14 points off turnovers.
Oklahoma entered Saturday ranked 105th nationally in time of possession (28 minutes). Saturday? Behind its dominant run game, the Sooners converted 7-of-15 third-down tries and held the ball for over 35 minutes.
In a day of home underdogs pulling off upsets, Venables delivered a signature win and a subsequent field storming, Oklahoma’s first since 2000.
The play that defined the 4th quarter
For a brief moment, it appeared Alabama regained momentum to start a comeback. On a fourth-and-2, down 24-3 with 14:13 to play, Milroe rolled out and found Ryan Williams about 40 yards downfield for a highlight-level touchdown with Williams getting one foot down in the corner of the end zone. However, the officiating crew threw a flag for illegal touching on Williams, wiping away the score.
Alabama thought they scored on this fourth down play from Ryan Williams but the play was overturned due to illegal touching. pic.twitter.com/25U0QuLjQH
— ESPN (@espn) November 24, 2024
It was a puzzling call in the moment and on replay, as Williams didn’t appear to be out of order pre-snap or during the play, but after the initial call and a referee meeting, the call stood and Oklahoma took over on downs. Alabama never reached Oklahoma territory again.
(Photo: David Stacy / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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