Pep Guardiola admits Man City defence is a 'big issue' | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola admits Manchester City’s defence is a ‘big issue’ at the moment.

The Premier League champions are now seven points behind leaders Liverpool after losing two straight games and conceding five goals in the defeats by Crystal Palace and Leicester.

Guardiola is concerned at the change in form after their strong start to the season and insists the team must find a way to improve and become more solid again.

“We started the season with cleans sheets, we conceded five goals in I don’t know how many games. It was incredible how stable it was – [other teams] shot one or two a game during that period,” he said.

“It’s quite similar right now. I don’t know how many time they shot but, with the exception of the last five-10 minutes, of the first half, in the second half I don’t know many times they shot.

“But right now we are conceding goals and it’s one of the big issues. We have a specific quality of players. We have players to play with a ball and it’s not a team built to just defend a lot the time. But you have to make that effort to change that dynamic.”

City, now third in the table, face Southampton on Sunday.