Manchester City are at risk of missing out on next season’s Champions League thanks to their recent dip in form, manager Pep Guardiola said.
City, who are looking to qualify for Europe’s top club competition for a 15th straight season, have won just one of their last eight Premier League games and are seventh in the table, 12 points behind leaders Liverpool.
Only Arsenal between 1998 and 2017, and Manchester United between 1996 and 2014, have a longer record of qualifying among English clubs.
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Guardiola’s side are four points behind Nottingham Forest, who occupy the fourth and final Champions League qualification berth at Christmas.
“When I said before, people laughed. They said, ‘qualifying for the Champions League is not a big success’. But I know it because it happens with clubs in this country,” Guardiola told reporters ahead of their home match against Everton on Boxing Day.
“They were dominant for many years and after they were many years not qualifying for the Champions League.
“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.
“If we don’t qualify it is because we don’t deserve it, because we were not prepared and because we had a lot of problems and didn’t solve them.”
After hosting Everton later on Thursday City travel to face Leicester City on 29 December.
