Guardiola Warns Manchester City at Risk of Missing Champions League Qualification
Pep Guardiola has issued a warning that Manchester City is at risk of failing to qualify for next season’s Champions League due to their recent struggles in the Premier League. The defending champions are currently sitting in seventh place, four points adrift of fourth-placed Nottingham Forest.
This marks the first time in 14 consecutive seasons that City could miss out on European football’s most prestigious competition. Historically, only Arsenal (1998-2017) and Manchester United (1996-2014) have had longer continuous Champions League qualification runs in English football.
Guardiola’s side has won just one of their last eight Premier League fixtures and accumulated the fewest points in the league since November (only four points).
“When I said before, people laughed,” Guardiola remarked. “They said, ‘Qualifying for the Champions League is not a big success.’ But I know it because it happens with clubs in this country. Many were dominant for years but then stopped qualifying. The one team that has been in the Champions League for the past years has been Manchester City. Now, we are at risk, of course, we are.”
Although England remains top of UEFA’s European Performance ranking, City is currently outside the automatic Champions League qualification spots, sitting one point behind fifth-place Bournemouth.
“We are facing tough competition,” Guardiola continued. “If we don’t start winning games, we’ll miss out. If we don’t qualify, it will be because we didn’t deserve it, because we weren’t prepared, and because we didn’t solve our problems.”
City will need to improve quickly, starting with their Boxing Day match against Everton, followed by a trip to Leicester City on Sunday to close out 2024.