Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola hinted that another team might be more deserving of this season’s Premier League title after his side’s shock defeat at Brighton.
Man City took the lead at half-time, but were undone by two quick-fire goals in the second half.
Matt O’Riley, who came off the bench, netted the decisive strike on his Premier League debut to hand Brighton the 2-1 win.
The loss marked Guardiola’s fourth consecutive defeat across all competitions, a first in his managerial career.
Two of those defeats came in the Premier League, against Bournemouth and Brighton, while Tottenham knocked City out of the Carabao Cup and Sporting Lisbon handed them a 4-1 loss in the Champions League.
Man City now find themselves five points behind league leaders Liverpool, who defeated Aston Villa 2-0 later that evening.
The gap widened to five points after Liverpool overcame Villa in their match, leaving Guardiola’s side with further ground to make up in the title race.
“We are not able to do 90 minutes right now,” Pep Guardiola told Match of the Day.
“We played a really good first half and moments in the second half.
“We lost again so clean our heads, international break and hopefully our players come back fit.
“We have to try and win games again.
“We were not able to sustain the rhythm in the second half.
“Four [defeats] in a row. We have to change things quick.
“The schedule becomes tough but it is going to happen when the players come back.
“Maybe after seven years winning six Premier Leagues, maybe one year another team deserve it.
“We see what happens in Liverpool against Aston Villa, we’ll see.”
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