Pep Guardiola aims to reclaim Man City’s fearsome reputation in 10th Premier League season

For years Manchester City was the bogeyman of English soccer. Just a mention of the team sent shivers of fear down opponents’ spines. Only Jürgen Klopp’s supercharged Liverpool side could step into the ring with Pep Guardiola’s team and consistently mount a serious challenge.

Of the 16 Premier League matches between City and Liverpool while Klopp was still in charge of the latter, Guardiola has five wins to the German’s four. The other seven clashes ended in stalemates. 

Klopp’s men were never intimidated by their Manchester-based counterparts. Nevertheless, the Reds were once on the receiving end of City’s full wrath in 2017 when they went down 5-0 to Guardiola’s charges. The Merseyside club was reduced to 10 men early on in that league clash after Sadio Mané was sent off.

It is an ode to City’s ruthlessness that the match ended the way it did. Even with a player missing, any other team would have battled to beat that Klopp outfit, never mind handing it a five-goal battering.

Fall from grace

City’s reign of terror over the Premier League reached Godzilla-esque status during the 2022/23 season when the club clinched its first-ever European Champions League title. That triumph was the final piece of the puzzle as Guardiola led the Manchester side to a historic treble, which also included the league title and FA Cup.   

Then came the 2024/25 season. In what some may term karma, the club’s campaign was the worst since Guardiola jumped into the driver’s seat in 2016.

Then he exuded the confidence of Michael Schumacher in his prime after his impressive exploits with Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

By contrast, last season Guardiola was often frustration personified, as evidenced when he inadvertently slashed his face with a fingernail after his team threw away a three-goal lead in a Champions League match against Feyenoord. That was in November 2024, but that theme persisted for the remainder of the season.

The former European champions did well enough to finish third in the Premier League. It is still their lowest league placing since another third-place finish in 2016/17 — the season Guardiola made his English soccer debut. That season, just like the last campaign, they finished trophyless.

Guardiola — season 10

The 2025/26 campaign marks Guardiola’s 10th season in charge of the Manchester superpower. More than 500 games and 18 trophies in, he is out to build another feared team.

Players such as Belgian playmaker Kevin de Bruyne and English fullback Kyle Walker have become the latest players from Guardiola’s treble-winning side to depart. Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson is reportedly on his way out of the club as well.

Other players who have been integral to City’s success, such as Phil Foden, Rodri and Erling Haaland remain important. However, there is clearly a revolution taking place at City as they aim to reinstate their menacing aura.

As they cruised 4-0 past Wolverhampton Wanderers in their opening Premier League match a few days ago, glimpses of this revolution’s success were evident for all to see. The Cityzens have not splashed as much money as their fellow title hopefuls in the transfer market, but they’ve made some shrewd signings.

One of the new recruits, midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, showcased his skillset in that statement-making win against Wolves. The Dutchman scored and assisted another on his Premier League debut. New goalkeeper James Trafford also started and kept a clean sheet. French attacker Rayan Cherki came off the bench and scored on his league debut.  

‘Good vibes’

“This team is giving me good vibes. It started at the Club World Cup in the US. There we created something, I saw something that I liked, that we missed last season… Maybe I will swallow my words. But I have a feeling we will be more consistent than last season,” Guardiola told the Men in Blazers podcast.

At the Club World Cup the Cityzens won all their group games comfortably, including a 5-2 pummelling of fellow European club Juventus. But the gremlins of last season rose to the fore when they suffered a 4-3 defeat to Saudi side Al-Hilal in the round of 16.

Guardiola believes he can restore City’s dignity, hence he signed a two-year contract extension until 2027 in November last year. There had been speculation that Guardiola would jump ship this year, and that after nine seasons in charge the dressingroom needed a new leader.

Here to stay… for now

The Spanish tactician has seemingly put the frustrations of last season behind and he says he enjoys the backing of the club in his quest to resurrect its feared status.

“I love this city. When you are 10 years in one place, it’s because you feel comfortable,” Guardiola said. “I have two more years, maybe I’ll extend two more years. So, the question is when I will stop… In two years or in four years? I will take a break. But now I feel fine.

“I’m not concerned that last season was not perfect. It’s about learning, putting it behind you and preparing for the new season,” the former Barcelona midfielder added.

“When you are at the same club for eight to nine years, after all that winning you will drop a little bit. It’s inevitable. Now we need players that are going to continue the legacy of the previous generation. We want to continue to be up there,” he stated.

Guardiola’s legacy as a supercoach in sports is already sealed. Whatever he achieves next will be a bonus. DM