Man City 1-2 Man Utd: Crisis-hit Pep Guardiola faces a massive rebuild

Guardiola hinted that serious renewal would wait until the summer, but the red flags have been looming for weeks, the sudden and shocking demise of a team that has lost the aura of invincibility that in previous years has seen many opponents before kick-off gave up defeat.

He had declared that City needed to “survive” this season – whatever constitutes survival for a club with such huge ambitions – but the quest for a fifth consecutive Premier League title is surely over after one game They are nine points behind leaders Liverpool.

Their Champions League ambitions are also in jeopardy after another defeat, this time against Juventus in Turin.

City’s squad has been allowed to grow together far too old. The insatiable thirst for success seems to have evaporated, the scale of superiority has fallen and opponents are now feeling the vulnerability right up to the final whistle, just as United did here.

The way United were able to achieve this victory and felt like it went to the heart of the way City and Guardiola are allowing their opponents to exploit their downfall.

Guardiola has every reason to cite injuries, particularly injuries to Rodri, John Stones and others, but that cannot serve as an excuse for such a dramatic decline in performance combined with the appearance of a soft underbelly that can be so easily exploited .

And rebuilding City will not be a quick fix. With every performance, every defeat, the magnitude of what lies ahead of Guardiola becomes more obvious – and more frightening.

He will have the financial resources, but this will be done by strengthening City’s challengers as well.

Kevin de Bruyne, 34 in June, played 68 minutes here before being substituted. Age and injuries are taking their toll on one of the greatest players of the Premier League era and he is unlikely to be at City next season.

Kyle Walker, also 34, is increasingly exposed. His most notable contribution here was an embarrassing collapse to the ground after the mildest of direct collisions with Rasmus Hojlund.

Ilkay Gündogan, another 34-year-old and a former pillar of Guardiola’s great success, has neither the legs nor the energy to make an impact. After his return from Barcelona, ​​it looks more and more like the season has been too long.

Defects are also being uncovered elsewhere because previously reliable service providers do not meet previous standards.

When Phil Foden was Premier League Player of the Season last season, he scored 27 goals and provided 12 assists. This year he has scored just three goals and provided two assists in 18 appearances in all competitions. He has scored no goals and provided just one assist in 11 Premier League games.

Jack Grealish, who came on as a substitute after 77 minutes against United, has not scored for Manchester City in a year. He scored his last goal on December 16 last year in a 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace. He has now scored two goals for England.

Erling Haaland is also struggling as City lack creativity and excellence. He has scored three goals in his last 11 Premier League games, having scored 10 in his first five.

And further evidence of City’s impotence and dependence on Haaland is that defender Gvardiol’s goal against United was his fourth of the season, making him the second-highest goalscorer in all competitions behind the Norwegian striker, who has 18.

Goalkeeper Ederson, who has been so reliable for so long, has already been sidelined once this season and did not shine with glory for United’s winning goal.

Guardiola, who has just signed a two-year contract, insists he “want it” as he enters this foreign territory of failure.

He will have no illusions about the magnitude of the task ahead, having put his head in his hands in pain after another devastating and deeply revealing defeat.

City and Guardiola are entering new, unforgiving territory.