Why the Blues have stopped winning games

ONLY Kevin De Bruyne knows what to do in this situation out of the current Manchester City squad. And he's injured.

- By JOE BRAY

City took their winless run in the Premier League to four with an abject defeat to a brilliant Aston Villa side on Wednesday, prompting Pep Guardiola to admit his side are struggling. He has said that they are in trouble before but rarely admits they are struggling - which suggests anything they try isn't working.

That was the case at Aston Villa. Without Rodri, Jack Grealish, Jeremy Doku, and also Kevin De Bruyne, City had no midfield. John Stones was back but looked like a player who hadn't played in a few weeks, and Rico Lewis lost his battle with John McGinn comprehensively.

When Guardiola turned to the bench, he restored midfield solidity by bringing on Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes - but in taking off Phil Foden and Julian Alvarez, he took off his only two supply lines to Erling Haaland.

It was a different kind of game to the draws with Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham. In those games, City were well in the contest for much of the games, conceding due to individual errors or opposition brilliance. Drawing against those three sides, compiled of hundreds of millions of pounds of the world's best talent, is no disgrace at this stage of the season.

But against Villa (who have still spent a lot of money, just less), City were outfought and outthought from the first minute. The hosts took the game to City, exploiting their wide-open midfield, and putting pressure on a back line who have all made individual mistakes recently. The result was a ropey formation, and key absences meant Foden, Alvarez, and Bernardo were ineffective and isolated in a line of three behind Erling Haaland.

The fact that City's midfield and forward line that ended the game was Lewis, Kovacic, Nunes, Bernardo (playing out of position), and Oscar Bobb, is extremely telling.