Pep Guardiola’s words can be delivered with exaggeration, sarcasm or, at times, a combination of the two, so his rhetoric can lend itself to different explanations. But as he assessed his worst season in management, he declared: “I’m delighted to have failed.” If it was failure in the context of 12 league titles in his previous 15 seasons in the dugouts, different types of trebles, three Champions Leagues and an assortment of records, those are the standards Guardiola has set.
Go back a year and the assumption was that Manchester City would win a record fifth consecutive English league title. Instead, City limped in third. They came 22nd in the Champions League group stage. They exited the Club World Cup to Al Hilal and lost the FA Cup final to Crystal Palace. They suffered five successive defeats in a run of nine losses in 12. In one of the other three games, they drew with Feyenoord after leading 3-0. Like their campaign, it was far worse than any realistic expectation.
