Manchester City are not consistent enough, says manager Pep Guardiola

MANCHESTER – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said his team have not been consistent enough and questioned if they “are able to win three, four, five, six games in a row” as they try to chase down Arsenal in the English Premier League title race.

He made the comments on the eve of Fulham’s Premier League visit on Feb 11.

City are six points behind leaders Arsenal and have won just two of their last seven league matches.

“The distance is not huge but considering how Arsenal is doing, six points is a lot,” Guardiola said on Feb 10.

“I have had the feeling for many, many months but we are not consistent enough... We have to prove it now. I don’t know if we are able to win three, four, five, six games in a row. I don’t know.”

One of City’s issues is star striker Erling Haaland’s recent downturn in form.

The Norwegian said tiredness was no excuse for his poor goalscoring run in 2026, as he demands more of himself to keep City in the hunt for four trophies.

Haaland scored a dramatic stoppage-time winner from the penalty spot as City beat Liverpool 2-1 on Feb 8 to keep his side in the title hunt.

The 25-year-old has netted 28 times in 36 games for City this season.

But he has not scored from open play in the Premier League since Dec 20 and has just three goals in his last 13 appearances.

“Of course, I haven’t scored enough goals since the start of this year and I know that I need to improve,” said Haaland.

“I know I need to be more sharp, better at all of this, and this is something that I have to work on. I have to keep going because this is what everyone deserves and expects.”

Pep Guardiola said in January that Haaland was “exhausted” by a gruelling schedule, with City still involved in four competitions.

Guardiola’s men will face Arsenal in the League Cup final on March 22, are into the last 16 of the Champions League, and face fourth-tier Salford City in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

“I don’t want to speak about why I haven’t performed. I don’t think there’s any excuse. Fatigue is a lot in the head,” added Haaland.

“It’s a lot of games. Look at the schedule, it’s not easy and for me, it’s about staying fit. That’s the most important thing.”

Guardiola will be hoping his Norwegian striker will continue his good record against the Cottagers.

Haaland has been involved in 10 goals in just seven league appearances against Fulham (seven goals, three assists).

“We’ve seen before that the title race is not over until it’s over,” he said. “Right now I need to focus on Fulham because there’s still many games (to go).”

It was a sentiment echoed by teammate Bernardo Silva, who said after the win over Liverpool: “The hope is there and we are going to fight until the end.

“We need to keep doing our job that we haven’t lately.”

For Fulham’s visit to the Etihad, City will be without injured defender Josko Gvardiol, wingers Savinho and Jeremy Doku, and midfielder Mateo Kovacic.

Centre-back Abdukodir Khusanov is available again, while John Stones is “fit I would say”, according to Guardiola.

Marco Silva has fewer absentees with only Sasa Lukic out through injury, while captain and fellow midfielder Tom Cairney is a doubt for the Cottagers.

Silva’s 10th-placed side will be hoping to turn around a recent slump, having lost three of their last four league matches.

But the Portuguese has lost all 13 of his Premier League matches against City, the most a single manager has faced an opponent with a 100 per cent losing rate, according to the BBC.

Fulham have a similarly poor record against City, having lost their last 16 league games against the Manchester side – the longest winning run one team has had against another in English league history. AFP