Pep Guardiola admitted Manchester City are in uncharted territory after a 4-0 thrashing of Tottenham handed the English champions a fifth straight defeat and ended a 52-match unbeaten home run. James Maddison struck twice in seven first-half minutes before Pedro Porro rubbed salt in his old club's wounds and Brennan Johnson completed the rout. The first defeat on home soil since the eve of the 2022 World Cup leaves City still five points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool, who draw their match against bottom-of-the-table Southampton on Sunday.
Guardiola has committed to turning around the poorest spell of his managerial career after extending his contract until 2027 this week.
But hopes that his new contract can revive a City side that has won an unprecedented four consecutive Premier League titles proved short-lived.
“In eight years we have never experienced a situation like this,” said Guardiola, who joined the club in 2016.
“Now we have to live it and break it by winning the next games, especially the next one. Now we see things one way, maybe in a few weeks we will see it differently.”
Rodri paraded his Ballon d'Or trophy to the home fans before kick-off as his name was illuminated across the Etihad pitch in a flashy show of support for the Spanish midfielder.
The 28-year-old is not expected to play again this season after suffering knee ligament damage in September and his absence was at the heart of City's demise.
Guardiola's men started brightly as Guglielmo Vicario denied Erling Haaland and the Norwegian got another shot wide.
But the momentum of the match changed completely after Tottenham's first serious attack after 13 minutes.
Dejan Kulusevski's teasing cross picked up Maddison, who applied a cool finish for the first time.
“At the moment we are defensively vulnerable,” Guardiola said.
“We started very well as usual, but we couldn't score and then we gave in. Then we conceded some more, which is difficult for our emotions at the moment.”
Encourage inconsistency
Maddison has been left out of Postecoglou's starting line-up in recent weeks and was keen to prove a point to his manager.
Son Heung-min's inventive pass freed the England international in the penalty area and he tapped the ball over the advancing Ederson to double Spurs' lead.
Inconsistency has been the scourge of Tottenham's season so far.
A 2-1 home defeat to Ipswich before the international break saw Postecoglou's men slip to 10th in the table.
But they have now won comfortably twice in Manchester after beating United 3-0 at Old Trafford.
“It's important because they obviously have an incredible record here at home,” Postecoglou said.
“We have reached these standards before. What matters is that we don't drop now like in certain games.”
Spurs quashed any idea of a comeback seven minutes into the second period.
The excellent Kulusevski crossed for Dominic Solanke and he patiently put the ball back for Porro to fire home from close range.
Haaland grabbed the crossbar from an almost impossible angle as City searched for an answer.
Instead they were hit with a final sucker punch as Timo Werner ran past Kyle Walker and crossed for Johnson to tap home at the far post.
The only glimmer of hope for City could be the return of Kevin De Bruyne after a two-month injury layoff as a late substitute.
However, Guardiola must find solutions quickly if he wants to maintain his side's title defense into the new year.
A difficult match against Liverpool at Anfield follows in the Premier League, where City has not won in front of an audience since 2003.
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