Pep Guardiola: I’m not good enough

MANCHESTER, England (AP):

Pep Guardiola declared himself “not good enough” after Manchester City’s season sank to a new low after a 2-1 defeat to Manchester United yesterday.

The four-time defending English Premier League champions have lost eight of their last 11 games in all competitions - winning just once in that run.

City are fifth in the standings and nine points behind leaders Liverpool, having played a game more.

“I’m the boss, I’m the manager, and I’m not good enough. It’s as simple as that,” Guardiola said after the latest loss. “I’m not doing well. That is the truth.”

Guardiola has led City to unprecedented success, winning an unprecedented four Premier League titles in a row and six in the last seven seasons. He has won 15 major trophies at the club, including the Champions League.

But he is experiencing the worst run of form in his coaching career, which has seen him win 33 major trophies at Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and City.

Guardiola signed a two-year contract extension last month, but that has not sparked an upturn in his team’s form.

City led 1-0 going into the 88th minute against United but then conceded late goals to Bruno Fernandes and Amad Diallo — prompting boos from fans after the final whistle.

“I knew that it would be a tough season from the beginning. I said (that) many times, even when we were winning, but I didn’t expect it was so hard like it was right now,” Guardiola said.

Diallo struck a 90th-minute winner as Manchester United staged a stunning late comeback to beat Manchester City.

Manchester City led the Manchester derby 1-0 going into the 88th minute at the Etihad Stadium. But the game was turned round in dramatic fashion as Bruno Fernandes levelled from the penalty spot and Diallo sealed victory for United — prompting head coach Ruben Amorim to declare “something magic happened”.

“It was a very tough match, but we believe until the end. We managed to score. We needed that win. It was important for us and for our fans,” Amorim said.

It was a first derby victory for new United head coach Amorim, but for a long time it looked like being a third-straight league loss for United after Josko Gvardiol’s headed goal in the 36th.

Fernandes was guilty of missing the target when through on goal in the second half and United struggled to create chances against a City team that rarely looked like adding to its lead.

But in a dramatic end to the match, Diallo raced after an underhit backpass from Matheus Nunes. Nunes then brought down the United forward in the box and referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the penalty spot.

Fernandes made no mistake this time — sending Ederson the wrong way.

Moments later, Diallo ran onto a long pass from Lisandro Martinez, flicked the ball high and past Ederson before rolling it into the net from a tight angle.

United are 13th and five points behind fifth-place City.

Chelsea challenge

Chelsea, in second, closed the gap on Liverpool to two points after a 2-1 win against Brentford.

It is now seven straight wins in all competitions for Enzo Maresca’s team, which is unbeaten in 10. Their last league defeat was in October — a 2-1 loss to Liverpool.

Marc Cucurella scored in the 43rd and Nicolas Jackson made it 2-0 in the 80th for his ninth goal of the season.

Bryan Mbeumo scored for Brentford in the 90th, and Cucurella was sent off for a second yellow card in added time.

Chelsea are four points ahead of third-place Arsenal.

Other results:

Brighton 1 Crystal Palace 3; Southampton 0 Tottenham 5