Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, fears the team could lose out on a Champions League spot next season.
City is currently playing in the most prestigious club competition in European football for the fourteenth consecutive season.
The only English clubs with a longer qualifying record are Manchester United from 1996 to 2014 and Arsenal from 1998 to 2017.
After 17 games, City is in seventh place in the Premier League, one point behind fifth-place Bournemouth and four points behind fourth-place Nottingham Forest.
Even though City would still not qualify based on current rankings, England is currently leading Uefa’s European Performance Spot chart and is in a strong position to finish in fifth place in the Champions League next season.
“When I said before, people laughed,” said Guardiola. “They said, ‘qualifying for the Champions League is not a big success’.
“But I know it because it happens with clubs in this country. They were dominant for many years and after they were many years not qualifying for the Champions League.”
From 2005–06 until 2008–09, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United were among the top four teams in the Premier League. Additionally, until 2012, at least three of them held the top four positions for 15 consecutive campaigns.
However, United has missed out on the Champions League for five of the last eleven seasons. Before making a comeback last season, Arsenal was out of the competition for six seasons. Chelsea is in their second consecutive season outside of Europe’s top division, whereas Liverpool missed all but one of the seven years in 2010.
This time, unexpected sources pose a threat to the city. Aston Villa leads City, Forest, and Bournemouth, while Newcastle, Fulham, and Brighton are all within a few points.
