Pep Guardiola believes Bournemouth defeat was the start of Man City’s troubles

Pep Guardiola hopes his Manchester City side can erase the memory of one of their season’s lowpoints by making FA Cup history this weekend.

City are bidding to reach the semi-finals of the competition for a record-extending seventh consecutive season as they travel to Bournemouth in the last eight on Sunday.

Their last visit to the Vitality Stadium was one to forget as they slumped to their first Premier League defeat of the campaign in November.

City manager Guardiola feels that was when the rot set in during their disappointing season, with the team going on to lose seven and win just one of their next 11 games.

“That was the first game where we were a little bit away from the standards required to be competitive,” Guardiola said.

“I couldn’t turn around the symptoms that that game started, in terms of pressing and being aggressive and duels and these aspects.