City stars need question their hunger after troubled season, says Guardiola

Manchester City star Erling Haaland recently said that he and his teammates "haven't had fully the hunger inside" throughout a campaign that ranks as one of the worst in Guardiola's glittering reign. 

After winning the Premier League for six of the last seven seasons and clinching a historic treble in 2023, City are still not guaranteed to qualify for the Champions League and could finish without silverware for the first time since 2017.

Guardiola has been at a loss to explain City's malaise at times this term, but he conceded his players should discuss whether their appetite for success had been sated. "If it's the feeling from Erling, the players should talk to each other and ask themselves why," he told reporters on Friday.

Manchester City's form has improved in recent weeks, and they are now in third place in the Premier League after a seven-game unbeaten run. They also face Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final at Wembley on May 17. 

But Guardiola believes it is too soon to suggest that his players' desire has completely returned. "We can do better, we are happy with the results we have, but the situation comes back when we have sustained it for many, many months. It was just three or four weeks," he said.