article: City had effectively been building a home waiting for Guardiola to move in and the man any club in the world would want in charge was finally ready to take up residence after leaving Bayern Munich. What was not part of the plan was a slump in form that raises the possibility of Guardiola taking charge with City in the Europa League - a prospect that must now be considered as Manchester United closed to within a point of Pellegrini's fourth-placed side with a 1-0 win at Etihad Stadium on Sunday. What has been happening to City's season to leave them in this perilous position? This is an easy accusation to make and can be supported by the fact City have won only three games out of 11 since Guardiola's arrival was confirmed in an announcement in February - but is it actually true? City have won a trophy - the Capital One Cup at Wembley against Liverpool - since then and it would be doing Pellegrini's squad a kindness to suggest they have only become indifferent and below-par since it became known Guardiola was on his way. They have also made club history by reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time with victory over two legs against Dynamo Kiev - but the signs of decline were in evidence well before 1 February. Manchester City have not been at their best for any period since they began the season with five straight Premier League wins. They had already lost five league games before the Guardiola announcement was made. City won their first three away games in the Premier League but only two of the next 11 and have not won back-to-back league games in five months. The rot set in long before they started getting ready to put Guardiola's name on the manager's office door. It is hard to believe City's players have been dwelling on the Spaniard's arrival during games and in an uncharacteristically prickly post-match media conference after the United loss, Pellegrini was at pains to deflect suggestions Guardiola was providing an unwelcome distraction. He said: "I don't think I have lost any control. The attitude of the team was excellent. I repeat - I am happy with attitude of the players." Guardiola's impending arrival may have focused minds on City's shortcomings - but this was a team showing signs of struggle and decline well before he was confirmed as Pellegrini's successor. Manchester City are only one point ahead of Manchester United and West Ham even though they still lie fourth, and 15 points behind leaders Leicester City having played a game less. The rest of the season is not about winning the title but finishing in the top four - an embarrassing state of affairs for a club with City's aspirations and scale of ambition. And perhaps the most tell-tale statistic of why they are where they are comes in their record against the current top eight. City have played 11 matches against them, winning only one, drawing three and losing seven for a meagre
summary: When Manchester City announced that Pep Guardiola - the world's most coveted and celebrated manager - would succeed Manuel Pellegrini in the summer, there was not a cloud on the club's horizon.