I have to solve this, says Guardiola after Manchester City lose fourth in a row

Pep Guardiola said it was up to him to find a solution to Manchester City’s malaise after suffering a fourth successive defeat for the first time in his managerial career.

Goals from the substitutes João Pedro and Matt O’Riley capped a superb comeback from Brighton after Erling Haaland had put City ahead in the first half. Guardiola’s side were beaten 2-1 at Bournemouth after being knocked out of the EFL Cup at Tottenham and were then thrashed 4-1 in the Champions League on Tuesday by Sporting in Lisbon.

But despite acknowledging his injury-hit squad needed time to “clear their heads” during the international break, the City manager insisted that his team can recover from their latest setback.

“It always happens one time in your lifetime, right? Always there is a first time,” he said of losing a record that stretches back to his first managerial post at Barcelona in 2006.

“We have to change it and get back to winning. We are in the position that we are in and hopefully when we get the players back I don’t have any doubts that we will be back. This is my challenge – our challenge – and I’d like to face it. I will not step back at all. More than ever I want to do it. So we will try again. We must clear our heads and the players come back fit – this is the target.”

Asked whether he felt their run of poor results was a sign that City’s era of dominance was coming to an end, Guardiola pointed to the number of injuries his squad has after he handed the 19-year-old defender Jahmai Simpson-Pusey his Premier League debut.

“It’s what we want – to not be finished,” he said. “It’s what the people want because we won a lot, it happens. But I would like to have all the squad to fight and if someone [beats City] then congratulations. Not to give it away because we are not there.

“I had that feeling that we cannot do it every three or four days with the situation that we have. The era is going to come [to an end] for sure – in the next 55 years, City is not going to win the Premier League every year. But I would like us to try and if we can play like we did in the first half then we have a chance.”

Fabian Hürzeler was delighted with his team’s turnaround as they went fourth. “Manchester City are one of the best teams in the world and Pep Guardiola is one of the best coaches,” he said. “That’s why it’s so important to be happy, proud and gain self‑confidence. But it’s so important to also stay humble.”