Former Celtic and Norwich City striker Chris Sutton has questioned Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola's decision-making after his side slipped to a 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon.
After Arsenal dropped points against relegation-threatened Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday lunchtime, City travelled to the capital with the knowledge that three points against Spurs would have lifted them to within two points of the Gunners at the top of the table. However, Harry Kane's record-breaking goal after just 15 minutes was enough to condemn the Blues to a second successive Premier League away defeat.
It means City remain five points behind Arsenal and could be joined on 45 points by cross-city rivals Manchester United on Wednesday evening, should the Reds beat Leeds United at Old Trafford. City have not been at their fluent best in recent weeks, attracting frequent criticism, and Guardiola's decision to leave Kevin De Bruyne out of the starting line-up at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was questioned.
READ MORE: Pep Guardiola describes City mood after another Spurs defeat
De Bruyne's omission from the starting line-up, coupled with Joao Cancelo's shock loan move to Bayern Munich on deadline day last week, means Guardiola's and City's decisions are coming under-fire. And for BBC Sport pundit Sutton, Guardiola's recent decisions are "madness".
Penning his column for the Mail, Sutton said: "Sending Joao Cancelo on loan to Bayern Munich? Madness. Dropping Kevin De Bruyne for a game you need to win to move within two points of Arsenal? Madness.
"Asking 18-year-old Rico Lewis to constantly receive the ball on the half-turn while Tottenham's pressers lurk like vultures? Madness. And it led to the winning goal from Harry Kane at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
"Pep Guardiola is trying very hard to come across as the mad professor with the decisions he's making and, right now, they aren't doing Manchester City much good. His side aren't carrying that air of superiority we've seen from them in the past."
Though Cancelo had not featured as much as he would have liked since returning from the World Cup in Qatar in December, his switch to Bayern Munich stunned City's supporters. For Sutton, City are "worse off" without the Portuguese international.
"I still can't wrap my head around Cancelo," Sutton added. "I'd love to know what went on between him and Guardiola, how and why City felt they could afford to let him leave.
"It screams of the manager cutting off his nose to spite his face. City are worse off without Cancelo. They lost him and lost to Tottenham while he was winning with Bayern at Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga on Sunday."
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