MANCHESTER: After Manchester United came from behind to seal a dramatic 2-1 derby victory over Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has blamed himself for City's derby defeat, saying he is "not good enough".
City saw a 1-0 lead become a 2-1 loss to Manchester United in the last few minutes of Sunday’s Manchester derby as their difficult run of results continued.
"The results are not good, the game was not exceptional. I know the situation; I understand, but the reality is this, " Guardiola told BBC Match of the Day.
"They have to know that these situations happen. In the box you have to be careful. It's not about Matheus (Nunes, who conceded the penalty), he played really good in not his position at full-back. But it's not about that, we have to play better. The result will help us to take our best but right now we don't have it. The way I learn is to keep going.
"I'm not good enough. I am the boss, the manager; I have to find solutions and so far I haven't. That's the reality. We want to play better, create chances. But at the moment it's not possible, " he added.
Guardiola's side have now lost eight of their last 11 matches in all competitions and have slipped to fifth in the Premier League table, nine points off leaders Liverpool.
But the head coach said there are elements of their normal game that aren’t there, and he needs to figure out what that is to get his team back on a winning track.
“It is something we are missing. When you win games, the energy is higher. This is my job. My job is not just to win games and lift trophies, " Guardiola said in a post-match press conference.
"I am incredibly well paid to handle these situations. Maybe in one year or a year and a half we were able to lose eight games - now in one month and 10 days we have lost eight games out of 11.
"We were top of the league and the only unbeaten team in Europe (before this run). We are a big club; I am here because of what we have done in the past. Otherwise, clubs would not sustain their manager.
"All the managers around the world work harder and think more and talk more. I have to tell them that still we are so good. I knew it would be a tough season, even when we were winning, but I didn’t expect it to be so hard like it is right now, " he said.