Guardiola hits 'reset' with Man City floundering in the Premier League

For Pep Guardiola, the season starts now.

Chastened. Relieved. Defiant. The Manchester City manager displayed a whole range of emotions after his latest ordeal at Anfield that plunged the out-of-sorts English champions to an unlikely low.

Make that seven matches without a win for a team which, not so long ago, never lost.

That’s all in the past for Guardiola, though.

“Reset,” he said after a 2-0 loss to Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday. “There’s a feeling we start from here this season.”

How he intends to move on from the worst run of results in his managerial career remains to be seen. But it all starts Wednesday with a home game against Nottingham Forest.

“We are not used to this,” Guardiola said. “Many, many things are happening. The teams are good and we can’t handle it right now. I have to find the solution to be stable and solid.

“These players gave me a chance to lead maybe the best years of my life. All I can do is find a solution — in the right moment, the club will make the decision what is needed for this club to continue to be there.”

Was he referring to making signings in the January transfer window? City’s fatigued and injury-ravaged squad sure needs some, especially in midfield.

Or was he referring to his own future? It’s not the first time in recent days that Guardiola brought up how fragile his position could quickly become if City keeps on losing.

Moments before walking down the tunnel after the final whistle at Anfield, Guardiola held up one outstretched hand and an extra finger as a retort to taunts by Liverpool fans. It was a nod to the six Premier League titles he has won in eight full seasons at City.

No. 7 doesn’t look likely this season. Not with City already 11 points behind Liverpool.

“Call me delusional or something like that,” Guardiola said, “but I have the feeling we will try to build back our confidence to win games.”

Indeed, Guardiola said he was taking some belief from recent training sessions. From the return to fitness of some players, such as Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku. Maybe from a second-half display against Liverpool that, while hardly vintage City, at least showed some spirit and resolve, even if Liverpool appeared happy to play on the break and never looked troubled.

It felt like Guardiola was relieved to come away from Anfield with the damage limited and City’s hardest fixture of the season out of the way.

Yet his comments will sound so hollow if City goes on to lose to — or even draw with — sixth-place Forest, which is only one point and one spot behind and has a manager in Nuno Espirito Santo who has enjoyed some surprise results at City with former club Wolverhampton.

Guardiola's masterplan might include a change of role for Grealish, who could yet play more centrally as a No. 10 rather than as a winger. Or a first start since September for Kevin De Bruyne, who has had to settle for cameo roles off the bench as he struggles to fully overcome a groin injury.

Getting some energy into his midfield will be important as the absence of Rodri and Mateo Kovacic continues to bite hard and be City's biggest issue. That might come in the form of a new signing next month, unless Guardiola is working on a new plan on the training ground.

A midweek victory for City, coupled with setbacks for Liverpool at Newcastle and Arsenal at home to Manchester United elsewhere Wednesday, could yet rekindle some belief that all is not lost this season.

On current form, this is unlikely.

“I think it’s almost a mini-crisis at Manchester City," said Jamie Carragher, a pundit for British broadcaster Sky Sports. "I think City might have a fight on their hands for top four.”

Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80

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Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola, center, and the players applaud the fans at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, England, Sunday Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola reacts after Liverpool scored their second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, England, Sunday Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola applauds the fans at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, England, Sunday Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola puts up six fingers to remind the jeering fans of his six Premier League titles at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, England, Sunday Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola sits on the bench before the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, England, Sunday Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Pro-Western parties won the most votes in Romania’s parliamentary election, data on Monday shows, and will look to form a coalition government as the European Union country sees a surge of support for far-right nationalists who made huge gains in the country’s legislature.

The leftist Social Democratic Party topped the polls in Sunday’s vote and the far-right nationalist Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) came in second, ahead of the National Liberal Party. The reformist Save Romania Union party (USR) was fourth. Two smaller far-right nationalist parties also got enough votes to enter parliament.

The election revealed widespread anti-establishment sentiment in the EU and NATO member country, which is due to hold a presidential runoff on Dec. 8 between far-right populist Calin Georgescu and the USR's Elena Lasconi. The first round plunged Romania into political turmoil and led to allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference.

George Simion, the controversial 38-year-old leader of the AUR and a vocal supporter of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, said the anti-establishment gains on Sunday amounted to a “watershed moment” for Romania.

“It is a moment when, through our common will, Romania is reborn,” he said. “We are here … generation after generation, proving that nothing can defeat a united nation.”

In 2020, the AUR went from relative obscurity to gaining 9% in a parliamentary vote, allowing it to enter parliament. The party — which proclaims to stand for “family, nation, faith, and freedom” and won the largest share of the vote among Romanians living abroad — doubled its support in Sunday’s vote to 18.2%.

Cristian Andrei, a political consultant based in Bucharest, says the increased parliamentary seats for the far-right will make forming a majority government difficult for the pro-Western parties because they are historically opposition parties and could struggle to reach agreements.

“It’s not a unified majority, it’s a very fragmented one and full of hatred among the parties,” he said. “The European side won a majority ... but a majority is very difficult to build, because all those pro-European parties are not enemies, but they fought a lot in the past."

In 2021, despite historically being Romania’s two main opposition parties that have dominated post-communist politics, the Social Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party formed an unlikely but increasingly strained coalition together with a small ethnic Hungarian party, which exited the Cabinet last year after a power-sharing dispute.

“The real kingmaker will be the next president, that person ... will have a very strong position in negotiating the coalition," Andrei said.

The presidential role in Romania has significant decision-making powers in areas such as national security and foreign policy. They also nominate prime ministerial appointments and can dissolve parliament if it is twice rejected. However, the prime minister is the head of the nation’s government.

Observers say that Georgescu's surprise win in the first round of Romania's presidential election indicates a sharp shift from Romania’s mainstream parties to more populist anti-establishment parties, whose voices have found fertile ground amid high inflation, high cost of living and a sluggish economy. He polled at less than 10% before the race.

The next government will have to make “unpopular decisions about taxes and budget cuts and stuff like that,” which could further bolster the far-right over the next four years, Andrei said.

The success of Georgescu — who has praised Romanian fascist leaders and Russian President Vladimir Putin — has triggered nightly protests throughout Romania by those who oppose his past remarks and view him as a threat to democracy.

Many have attributed to his rapid rise in popularity on the social media platform TikTok. According to a report by Expert Forum, a Bucharest-based think tank, the recent popularity of Georgescu’s account “appears sudden and artificial, similar to his polling results.”

Without naming Georgescu, who declared zero campaign spending, Romania’s top defense body said last week that “a presidential candidate benefited from massive exposure due to preferential treatment” granted by TikTok. Romania has become a “priority target for hostile actions” by Russia, it added. The Kremlin has denied meddling in the election.

The Constitutional Court on Nov. 28 requested a recount of all 9.4 million votes after a former presidential candidate who obtained 1%, lodged a complaint alleging the reformist USR had violated electoral laws against campaign activities on polling day.

The court also postponed on Nov. 29 a decision until Monday on whether to annul the vote.

A woman holding a ballot exits a voting booth during the country's parliamentary elections, in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

A woman casts her vote in a station with European Union flags as curtains for the cabins, in the country's parliamentary elections, in Baleni, Romania, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Elena Lasconi, runner up in the presidential runoff, representing the Save Romania Union, or USR, speaks after exit polls were published in the country's parliamentary elections, in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A child sits between Romanian flags before a speach by George Simion, leader of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) after polls closed during the country's parliamentary elections, in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Calin Georgescu, an independent candidate for president who came first after the first round of presidential elections, casts his vote in the country's parliamentary elections, in Mogosoaia, Romania, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexandru Dobre)

George Simion, leader of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) speaks to media after polls closed during the country's parliamentary elections, in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, of the Social Democratic Party or PSD, speaks after exit polls in the country's parliamentary elections, in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexandru Dobre)

George Simion, leader of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) speaks to media after polls closed during the country's parliamentary elections, in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)