LONDON - Manchester City's malaise leaves the English champions in the unusual position of fretting over qualification for the knockout stage of the Champions League ahead of a trip to Italian giants Juventus on Dec 11.
City have won just once in their past nine games in all competitions, with an injury crisis and a loss of form for some of their biggest stars leading to the worst run of Pep Guardiola's managerial career.
But despite a 4-1 humbling by Sporting Lisbon and an embarrassing collapse from 3-0 up to draw 3-3 against Feyenoord, they are still in a position to qualify from the new league-phase format.
They were 17th in the 36-team table before the round of fixtures on Dec 10, with a top-24 finish enough to secure a place in the play-off round.
However, their chances of direct entry to the last 16 by finishing in the top eight look slim, with another difficult trip to Paris Saint-Germain to come in January before a home game against Club Brugge.
This story is from the December 11, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
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This story is from the December 11, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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