Manchester City’s Downfall… Did Everyone Overreact?

Manchester City’s Downfall… Did Everyone Overreact?

Chandler Milligan

In one of the strangest, sudden collapses in recent football history, four-peat Premier League Champions Manchester City fell off the face of the earth in a disastrous end to 2024.

After clinching their fourth successive Premier League title, and their sixth in seven years, Manchester City entered the new season as favourites once again.

Pep Guardiola’s men had won the Club World Cup and the UEFA Super Cup in addition to their English title, with Erling Haaland winning the EPL Golden Boot and Phil Foden winning the Premier League Player of the Season award.

They were eliminated painfully on penalties after a staggering 4-4 aggregate draw against eventual winners Real Madrid after thoroughly dominating possession but failing to capitalise on their chances.

And following their UCL elimination, City locked in and lifted the Premier League title, coming out on top in a three-horse race between Arsenal and Liverpool.

Prior to their shock FA Cup Final defeat against local rivals Manchester United, the Sky Blues were on a club-record 35-game unbeaten run that spanned from the beginning of December to the end of May.

Guardiola was named Premier League Manager of the Year for a second consecutive time, and to the rest of the world, it looked like nothing would stop them from continuing their dynasty in 2025.

With Ilkay Gundogan returning after a one-year Catalan holiday with FC Barcelona, Manchester City were back in business and ready to break hate-watchers’ hearts.

They started the season with a penalty-shootout victory over Manchester United to lift the Community Shield.

Strangely enough, it was their first win in that one-off match since 2019, having lost three consecutive times despite their domestic dominance.

With Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal entering whatever phase they are now in after back-to-back second-place finishes in the league, the 2024/25 campaign looked destined to be another City v Arsenal showdown.

And that narrative was certainly unfolding after the defending Champions snatched a late 2-2 draw against the Gunners in September.

Manchester City were poised to enter November undefeated, until a shock 2-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur sent them out of the EFL Cup and down a steep slope.

Well, it wasn’t really a shock when you consider their usual form at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

But what followed certainly was.

The mast completely snapped off the Sky Blues’ ship, and they followed their defeat to Tottenham with a 2-1 league defeat to Bournemouth, a 4-1 flattening against Sporting CP in the UCL, a late 2-1 comeback defeat against Brighton Hove Albion, and a 4-0 humiliation against Tottenham again.

Five straight defeats in all competitions for the first time since 2006.

And how did they follow it up?

They bottled a three-goal lead against Feyenoord in their next UCL game to draw 3-3 at the Etihad Stadium.

Arne Slot’s eventual title-winning Liverpool piled on the agony with a 2-0 victory, and City suddenly found themselves in fifth place and falling fast.

A 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest suggested that they had shaken off the sickness, but they followed up with another five games winless to plummet down to seventh.

One win in 13 games, and a lot of angry voices calling for Guardiola’s head.

The talk of an era ending, calls of a crisis, and a tsunami of memes. It was a time of pure joy for the vast majority of Premier League fans.

But they may have gotten carried away.

At the height of City’s downfall, they were still only eight points behind second.

Still in the FA Cup, and while they did finish 22nd in the table, they were still alive in the UCL with a play-off tie against Real Madrid pending.

If there is a team notorious for their end-of-season form, it’s Manchester City.

A six-game unbeaten run in the Premier League saw Pep Guardiola’s bruised giants rise to fourth in the table.

Then they suffered their most embarrassing result of the season with a 5-1 defeat against Arsenal.

Real Madrid scored twice after the 85th minute to secure a 3-2 comeback victory in City’s own backyard, and a Kylian Mbappe hattrick destroyed them in the return fixture.

Their bright 4-0 victory over Newcastle United was immediately erased by another 2-0 defeat to Liverpool, and many still debated whether the Blues would be playing UCL football in 2026.

Something clearly clicked inside the City dressing room, though, because the Cityzens went on a twelve-game run that saw only one defeat, and now sit on the verge of what will technically be a very successful season for the club.

It seems that despite the memes, Pep’s head scratching, and sheer number of weeks that ended in defeat, we may have all overreacted to the consequences of their ruin.

Make no mistake. This downfall, in shock factor, was very real.

For one of the greatest football teams of the modern era, and arguably one of the greatest sides of all time, to fall on their own sword so brutally is something you would only see after simming 20 years into a Football Manager save.

Imagine Pep Guardiola’s FC Barcelona, Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United, or Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal winning only one game in 13.

Impossible.

So, while their incredible downfall was every bit as dramatic as it appeared, the consequences were perhaps carried out of proportion.

To get knocked out of the UCL by defending Champions Real Madrid isn’t the end of the world.

Nor is getting eliminated early from the EFL Cup when they are competing in so many competitions.

Manchester City are in the FA Cup Final for the third consecutive time, and will enter the game as heavy favourites against underdogs Nottingham Forest.

And with Arsenal completely focused on their UCL semi-finals against PSG and the EPL title sealed by Liverpool, there is a very real chance that Pep Guardiola’s men will overtake the Gunners to finish the season as runners-up.

We’re looking at one of Manchester City’s worst campaigns in the last decade, yet they may still end the season with two domestic trophies and a second-place league finish.

Keep in mind, they have achieved this without their linchpin midfielder in Rodri, who only played three games for Manchester City this season after suffering an ACL injury in September.

He is the first Manchester City player to win the fabled Ballon d’Or after being crowned the best player in the world in October last year.

Meanwhile, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur look destined to finish 15th and 16th, even if one of them lifts the Europa League title.

Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea will likely lift the UEFA Conference League, but their UCL qualification will come down to the final day as they battle Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest, and Aston Villa for the decisive fourth spot.

Manchester City are by no means clear, but they are certainly best positioned to secure a UCL place, with a far kinder fixture list than their four opponents.

Say what you will about their three-month fall from grace, but Manchester City are finishing this season in promising form and will no doubt come back even stronger next season.