Pep Guardiola’s heaviest defeats: Man City boss equals biggest loss of career in Tottenham disaster

Considered one of the modern era’s greatest managers ever, Pep Guardiola has done a whole lot of winning and not a lot of losing.

Yet even the greatest managers have their off days, and when you coach as long as Guardiola has at the highest level, you’re going to absorb some rough results every now and then.

Which is why Pep Guardiola’s five-match losing streak in charge of Manchester City through November of 2024 was so eye-popping to the football community. Sure, Guardiola’s absorbed the occasional defeat, but five in a row? An unthinkable stretch for one of the game’s greatest coaches in charge of one of Europe’s most talented squads.

Even more astonishing was not just how Guardiola’s side were beaten, but the manner in which they were put to the sword. A 4-1 defeat at Sporting in Champions League play appeared an anomaly until they were battered 4-0 by Tottenham at their own home ground.

Man City’s season took an even uglier turn as they were pummeled by Arsenal to the tune of a 5-1 score in early February.

The Sporting News puts those numbers in perspective amongst the whole of Guardiola’s entire managerial career.

MORE: All the latest Man City news | Premier League schedule for 2024/25 | Latest Premier League top scorer rankings

Largest defeats of Pep Guardiola’s managerial career

The 4-0 defeat to Tottenham at the Etihad in November equaled the largest margin of defeat in Pep Guardiola’s managerial career. It was just the fourth time that the Spaniard had been beaten by four goals, and first since a loss to Everton in January of 2017.

It happened again just over two months later, as they were clobbered by Arsenal at The Emirates by the same margin.

Overall in his managerial career, Guardiola has been beaten by three or more goals on 11 separate occasions. Incredibly, all of those heavy defeats have come in charge of either Manchester City or Bayern Munich, as he was never beaten by more than two goals in charge of Barcelona.

4-goal defeats for Pep Guardiola

3-goal defeats for Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola teams managed

The relative lack of heavy defeats across Pep Guardiola’s career is one of many reasons why the Spaniard is considered one of the most accomplished coaches in the modern era of football.