Pep officially confirms the bad news after the draw against Chelsea

After the 1-1 draw with Chelsea, Pep Guardiola showed frustration at losing points and revealed his worries as Manchester City faces severe squad losses during this sensitive period of the campaign.

The match at Etihad started positively for Manchester City when Tijjani Reijnders scored the opening goal just before halftime. However, failing to capitalize on chances in the second half cost the home team, who conceded a late equalizer from Chelsea’s Enzo Fernández. This result caused Man City to drop four points in their last two matches and allowed Arsenal to extend their lead to six points in the title race.

What worries Guardiola the most is not just the scoreline but the increasingly alarming injury situation. Two defensive pillars, Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias, could not finish the match. Gvardiol left the field in the 51st minute, and Dias was forced off about half an hour later, especially with John Stones already sidelined long-term.

Guardiola admitted he is truly concerned: “Gvardiol didn’t look good at all. I haven’t spoken to the doctor yet, I’ll know more tomorrow.”. Regarding Dias, the Spanish coach also showed unease by briefly stating that the defender “will definitely be out of action.”.

The growing injury list at Man City leaves Guardiola almost powerless. “We have many injured players. John Stones will be out for an unknown number of months. Ruben will be out now, Josko as well. Nathan Aké, everyone knows, cannot play regularly.”, he shared.

Pep even pointed directly at the bench to illustrate the current situation: “Have you seen the bench today? Four academy players. And probably more to come. We don’t have enough players.”.

In midfield, the situation is no better. Rodri made his first start since October, but Guardiola remains uncertain if the Spanish midfielder will be available against Brighton. “Rodri is in the process of returning, but I don’t know if he can play in the next match.”, he said. Mateo Kovacic remains out long-term, Nico Gonzalez faces fitness issues, and Savinho is not yet fully fit.

Beyond injury concerns, Guardiola expressed frustration over his players’ inability to finish off matches. “We told the players to close out the game, but we couldn’t do that.”, he emphasized.

When asked about Chelsea’s control in the second half, Guardiola responded sharply: “I disagree. They scored, so you analyze it that way. Chelsea only had chances because we lost the ball twice. If you think they controlled the game, maybe you understand it better than I do.”.

Nevertheless, Guardiola tried to stay optimistic despite the difficulties: “Keep the spirit up and we will find solutions. The spirit is still there and will always be present.”. However, when asked about the title race, he candidly admitted uncertainty: “On Wednesday we face Brighton and then we’ll see. I don’t have the gift of prophecy to know what will happen.”.