Guardiola concedes 5 goals in same match for the second time in his successful career

Manchester City were shipwrecked on another day that will leave its mark on Pep Guardiola's record. He remains unblemished, but this season in particular is taking its toll on a manager used to sweeping, reinventing himself and always (or almost always) getting his way. The Sky Blues conceded five goals in their 5-1 loss to Arsenal, something almost unheard of in his career.

To be more precise, this is the second time in his 17-year coaching career that a Guardiola team has conceded a ‘Manita’. It had never happened to him with Barcelona or Bayern Munich, and it took him four years on board Manchester City before he knew what that was like.

That first occasion was on 27th September 2020, in a match without a crowd because of the pandemic where Leicester City swept aside the Sky Blues 5-2 at the Etihad Stadium. The Sky Blues had taken the lead through Mahrez early on, but they eventually fell apart and Jamie Vardy pulled off a hat-trick with a stunning strike. Although Ake pulled one back, James Maddison extended the lead and Youri Tielemans put the icing on the cake.

It took Pep 687 games to suffer his first ‘Manita’. The second came on number 920. Against Arsenal, this time on the road, City were beaten 5-1 in a game they looked in control of at times, but which slipped away from them just when they should have had it in the bag. Erling Haaland cancelled out Odegaard's opener in the 55th minute and within seven minutes the Cityzens had conceded two more.

Thomas' goal had its share of luck because his long-range effort was deflected by Stones into his own net, but Manchester City remained contemplative. Lewis-Skelly made a superb move and finish inside the Sky Blue box to make it 3-1 in the 62nd minute and a counter-attack saw Kai Havertz add a fourth in the 76th minute. Nwaneri rubbed salt into the Cityzens' wound by adding a fifth in the 93rd minute. In all that time since Haaland's equaliser, Guardiola's side had not had another shot on goal.