Pep Guardiola admitted Manchester City's Premier League title hopes may be slipping away after suffering a fourth consecutive defeat for the first time in his career, allowing Liverpool to go five points clear at the top.

The Manchester City boss has overseen four successive defeats for the first time in his managerial career with the latest coming at Brighton on Saturday evening as the Blues threw away a 1-0 lead for the second match in a row.

This is new territory for Pep Guardiola the manager, for whom the fourth defeat in a row for his all-conquering Manchester City was delivered by a Brighton side playing the kind of football under their young manager that the great Catalan once made his own.

City’s slump is set against the backdrop of Guardiola’s unresolved future. He is in the final year of his contract and it was widely expected within the club during the summer that he would leave in 2025, alongside director of football Txiki Begiristain, whose departure, and the arrival of Hugo Viana as his replacement, was confirmed in October.

Manchester City's blip turned into a crisis as they lost to Brighton. The unexpected defeat led to online trolls for the club and head coach Pep Guardiola.

With Manchester City’s 2-1 loss to Brighton in the Premier League, Pep Guardiola has reached an unprecedented low in his illustrious coaching career.

Joao Pedro produced a goal and an assist off the bench as Brighton overcame Erling Haaland's 12th goal of the Premier League season to beat Manchester City at the Amex Stadium.

Manchester City lost their fourth game in a row for the first time since Spanish manager Pep Guardiola was appointed in the summer 2016. The English giants lost 2-1 against Brighton despite scoring the opening goal via Erling Haaland,

Manchester City's crisis deepened on Saturday as they suffered a dramatic 2-1 defeat to Brighton, marking the first time in Pep Guardiola's illustrious managerial career that he has lost four consecutive matches.