Pep Guardiola Just Can’t Rely on Two Man City Duds After Woeful Fulham Outing

Pep Guardiola walked out of Craven Cottage with three points in his pocket but a heavy worry in his mind, because Manchester City may have won 5-4 against Fulham but nothing about that performance gave him peace, and the mistakes from two of his most trusted defenders made the night feel like a trap covered with bright lights. The final whistle came as a relief, not a celebration, because what City showed in that match was not the face of champions but the face of a team that could collapse again if anyone pressed them with courage. Guardiola knows this, the fans know this, and every rival watching from home knew it too. People talked about the scoreline, but the real story was about Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol, two players City normally rely on but who looked lost, shaky, confused and far from their usual standards on a night that felt like a warning of something bigger.

City started the match like a team ready to destroy Fulham. Erling Haaland scored his 100th Premier League goal, becoming the fastest man in history to reach the milestone, and the fans were ready for another easy City performance, another reminder that Guardiola’s men still run the Premier League. Then Tijjani Reijnders added another, Phil Foden danced his way into the box and scored, and it all looked perfect in the eyes of City supporters. Even when Fulham pulled one goal back, City quickly responded, and Phil Foden scored again to show he was in the mood to punish defenders. Sander Berge added a fifth and at that moment it felt like the game was finished. People were already preparing headlines like “City Destroy Fulham” and “Champions Cruise Again” but football loves drama and Fulham decided to shake the entire Premier League with a comeback that exposed City’s worst fear: a defence that forgets how to defend.

Fulham pushed forward without respect or fear, and suddenly the cracks in the Manchester City defence started to show. Passes were sloppy, the defensive line broke down, the communication disappeared, and what looked like a comfortable match quickly became a nightmare Guardiola could not ignore. Alex Iwobi scored, Samuel Chukwueze scored twice, and within minutes Fulham were one goal away from doing the impossible. The entire stadium felt the shift, the fans screamed, the momentum changed, and City looked like a team begging for the match to end. Guardiola’s face told the story clearly—he was furious, confused, and disappointed, especially with Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol, the two men who were supposed to keep the backline strong but instead made mistake after mistake that gave Fulham hope and nearly cost City everything.

Dias is normally the warrior of the team, the man who steps up in big moments, the one everyone follows, but on this night he looked slow, late, out of position, and unable to match Fulham’s energy. The worst part was how often he played Fulham players onside because he stayed deeper than the rest of the defence. Fans were angry, and some even felt betrayed because Dias is one of the players City supporters trust the most, but he kept dropping back like an old man who couldn’t keep up with the line. It happened once, twice, then again, and each time it invited Fulham to score. The third Fulham goal created chaos among City supporters online because people could clearly see Dias was the one who allowed the attackers to stay onside. The messages started flying everywhere, some calling the defending embarrassing, some calling it shameful, and some simply admitting they couldn’t believe what they were watching from a player who used to be one of the most reliable defenders in the Premier League.

Gvardiol was not any better. The Croatian defender has all the talent in the world, but that night he looked distracted and reckless. He completed a few beautiful passes that broke Fulham’s shape, but every good moment he had was followed by a mistake that put City under pressure again. There were misplaced passes, slow reactions, and poor positioning. He gave Fulham attackers encouragement instead of fear. At one point, he almost allowed Fulham to equalise after carelessly losing the ball, and City fans held their breath because better teams would have punished such an error instantly. He did make a last-ditch block that saved City late in the game, but the truth remained the same: his performance raised more questions than answers.

Guardiola watched all of this and knew something was wrong. He loves controlling every detail of the match, every movement, every pass, every defensive shift, but this time City looked like a team without balance, without leadership at the back, and without the usual calmness they show even in tight games. Their midfield played well, their attack scored goals, but their defence looked like a group trying to solve a puzzle with missing pieces. Fulham almost completed one of the greatest comebacks of the season simply because City defenders kept giving them gifts. It felt like every time City scored, their defenders said “Here, take one back.” That kind of performance can destroy title hopes in the Premier League race.

The fans reacted immediately. Social media exploded with messages from angry supporters who could not understand how City nearly threw away a 5-1 lead. Many targeted Ruben Dias, calling his performance shocking, worrying, and unacceptable. One fan said he was playing everyone onside “like an old man who can’t move,” and others posted clips of the mistakes again and again just to show how careless the defending was. They could not believe how badly Dias timed his movement and how easily Fulham attackers escaped behind him. Fans expect mistakes sometimes, but not this many in one game, and not from a senior defender.

Gvardiol also received heavy criticism. Fans complained that he was losing focus, losing the ball too much, and making decisions that put City under pressure. Some fans even told him to “leave the club” out of frustration, which shows how angry the supporters were after watching a match that should have been finished in the first half but turned into a disaster in the second. They felt betrayed not because City conceded goals but because those goals came from careless mistakes rather than great attacking play from Fulham. The defenders made Fulham look more dangerous than they actually were.

Some fans extended the criticism to Bernardo Silva and Reijnders, saying they didn’t help defensively and allowed Fulham too much space to run. But the main targets remained Dias and Gvardiol because the centre-backs are the heart of the defensive system, and when they fail, the entire team collapses. People said questions must be asked about why the defence suddenly looks weak and why simple defensive rules were ignored repeatedly.

Guardiola built his greatest teams on control, balance, and defensive strength. Even when City played beautiful attacking football, the foundation was always a strong defence that could stop counterattacks and control the tempo. Ruben Dias has been one of the best defenders in the world for years, and Gvardiol was signed for big money because City believed he could become one of the best in his position. But if performances like this continue, Guardiola’s plans for the season might fall apart. City cannot win the title with defending like that. Arsenal are waiting, watching, paying attention to every mistake, and if City continue to gift chances, their rivals will punish them more than Fulham did.

The dramatic collapse at Craven Cottage created fear among City fans because they know a title race can be decided by moments like these. One bad defensive performance can destroy momentum, confidence, and stability. City won 5-4, but no one felt like celebrating. Guardiola himself looked like a man who had won the battle but felt like he had lost something more important: trust in two of his defensive leaders. If he cannot rely on Dias and Gvardiol, he will have to make big decisions, because every point matters in the Premier League, and the smallest defensive weakness can turn into a disaster.

People will remember the scoreline, but Guardiola will remember the mistakes. He will remember how close City came to throwing away everything, how quickly a comfortable match transformed into a nightmare, and how much work he needs to do to fix the defence before bigger matches come. The title race is not forgiving. Champions do not survive many nights like this. Guardiola must look at Dias and Gvardiol and decide if they can be trusted in the crucial games ahead.

The Fulham match was more than a warning—it was a mirror showing City their biggest weakness. And if Guardiola does not fix it, the season could slip away in unexpected moments. The fans know this. The rivals know this. And now Guardiola knows it too: something is broken at the back, and it must be repaired quickly before City pay the price.

And so the story of a thrilling 5-4 victory becomes something deeper, something heavier, something that will follow City until they prove otherwise. Because after that chaotic night in London, one thing became clear: Pep Guardiola just can’t rely on those two defenders the way he used to, and that reality may shape the rest of the season in ways no one expected.