Pep Guardiola says he is not surprised by a dip in Manchester City’s usual high standards this season despite his efforts to avoid complacency.

City were dumped out of the League Cup by struggling Southampton on Wednesday and trail Arsenal by five points at the top of the Premier League.

After the 2-0 quarter-final defeat at St Mary’s in midweek, midfielder Ilkay Gundogan blamed a lack of hunger from the English champions.

“What happened didn’t surprise me,” Guardiola said on the eve of City’s trip to Manchester United in the Premier League on Saturday. “I tried to avoid it.

“It happened and hopefully it won’t happen again but it’s happened because we did four Premier Leagues in five years. Sometimes you have to reset.

Read full story on www.sportsdesk.com.mt

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