CITY STRUGGLING TO MAINTAIN LEVEL

Brighton defeat highlights their inconsistency, with Guardiola hinting his side may not win title

- 

Pep Guardiola admitted injury-ravaged Manchester City cannot compete for 90 minutes, after Brighton & Hove Albion's stunning 2-1 victory on Nov 9 condemned the Spaniard to four successive defeats for the first time in his managerial career.

With just 12 minutes left at the Amex Stadium, Guardiola's troubled side were clinging on to the lead given to them by Erling Haaland in the first half.

But the English Premier League champions collapsed in the closing stages as Joao Pedro equalised, before fellow substitute Matt O'Riley bagged Brighton's winner seven minutes from full time.

"Last season, we dropped too many points and the gaffer told us to believe in ourselves and we are doing well this season against the big teams," Pedro told Sky Sports.

For the first time in his glittering career as a manager with City, Bayern Munich and Barcelona, Guardiola has been beaten four times in a row across all competitions.

It was also the first time City had lost four successive games since a run between April and August 2006 under Stuart Pearce.

"Today we played really good in the first half, but we couldn't finish the game," Guardiola said.