Manchester City’s troubles deepened on Wednesday as they fell to a 2-0 defeat against Juventus, leaving their chances of progressing to the Champions League last 16 in serious jeopardy.
Second-half goals from Dusan Vlahovic and Weston McKennie secured victory for Juventus, handing Pep Guardiola’s side their seventh defeat in 10 matches. The English champions now sit in 22nd place in Europe’s revamped league phase, with only eight points from six matches.
City find themselves just one point above the bottom 12 places, which would mean elimination from the competition. With crucial matches against Paris Saint-Germain and Club Brugge still to come, their precarious position would have been unimaginable at the start of the season.
However, a collapse in form since late October has left City struggling in both the Premier League and the Champions League. They have managed only one win — against Nottingham Forest — during this dismal run.
The upcoming Manchester derby this weekend adds further pressure on Guardiola’s men as they fight to regain momentum.
“We have to get points. We’ll go to Paris to try and do that, and the same goes for the final match at home,” Guardiola told Amazon Prime Italy. “We can get out of this period by playing like we did today. We lost very few balls, and I think we played very well. The players deserve more because they give everything.”
Juventus, on the other hand, lifted spirits among their fans with the win. Vlahovic’s 10th goal of the season, a towering header, and McKennie’s superb volley with 15 minutes remaining ended a frustrating streak of four consecutive draws for Thiago Motta’s side.
The victory moved Juventus up to 11 points and brought joy to the Allianz Stadium, where fans celebrated exuberantly with flag-waving and cheers. Motta’s tenure has had a mixed start, but this gritty performance against City provided a much-needed boost.
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