Did Manchester City only start to falter in their previous five games? I bet you'd argue that there has to be more behind what looked impossible just a month ago, that now looked like a never-ending misfortune.

What looked like an intended result has now turned into a run, with the team losing control of their own fate, as Pep Guardiola continuously ran out of ideas on how to steady a sinking ship.

We take a look at the numbers behind, the cause, and the way forward to City's struggles, a period that will forever be remembered in modern football history as it has befallen Pep Guardiola, arguably the best manager ever.

Numbers and Facts Behind Debacle

For only the first time in his managerial career which has lasted for 17 years, Pep Guardiola has led his side to a five straight defeat, and the most recent one his biggest home loss in a league game.

Neither had it even befall Manchester City since the takeover in 2008, nor had any defending champion in Premier League history suffered such fate in the new era.

One will have to go back to Chelsea in 1956 since the last time a defending champion in the English top-flight lost five straight games across all competitions.

It was a formidable run, one with the potential of threatening the record for longest home run without a loss in the Premier League history, but City was stopped at 35, not even halfway to equaling the record, yet in humiliating fashion.

Before this run, Manchester City had as many defeats as five in 73 previous games across all competitions, excluding penalty shoot-outs, but safe to say they've looked shaky since the start of this campaign.

Fleeting Dominance Arise as the Season Does

Manchester City kicked off their season with a penalty shoot-out win against a Manchester United side, who would go on to struggle until Erik Ten Hag was relieved of his duties in October.

They fell to the same side in the Emirates FA Cup final at the end of last season, in a match where they looked vulnerable anytime they had to chase down a United counter.

In their opening game of the league season, they were able to outdo Chelsea in Stamford Bridge, and despite winning 2-0, they never looked comfortable like their domineering self, a trademark that had seen them to four straight league titles.

Wins against newly promoted Ipswich Town and then West Ham United followed, and those were visibly down to the inexperience and poor form of their opponents, who made costly errors to leave the champions with easy points.

Manchester City also benefited from the individual brilliance of Erling Haaland, who scored back-to-back hat-tricks in the two games, casting out any doubts about their fleeting performances.

They struggled to edge out Brentford, who could have easily blown them away earlier on in the context but weren't as deadly as can be on the day when presented the opportunity to hurt on the attack.

Held at home by Inter in the UEFA Champions League before needing a 96th-minute equalizer to salvage a point at home to Arsenal, who played more than 50 minutes with 10 men.

Then they went on a run of five games across all domestic competitions where they failed to win by just more than a goal margin against teams like Watford, Fulham, Southampton, and Wolverhampton Wanderers, while they were held in a 1-1 draw at Newcastle United.

They finally ran out of luck in their Carabao Cup fourth-round meeting with Spurs, where they suffered a 2-1 defeat. It looked like a self-inflicted loss as Pep Guardiola rested a lot of his stars for upcoming games, but four games after that, it is their reality.

First-ever loss in their history to Bournemouth followed in the weekend and when they returned to Europe in mid-week, they lost Manchester bragging rights to Ruben Amorim even before the Portuguese arrived at United, as his Sporting CP side thrashed them 4-1 in Lisbon.

The club had not lost three straight games since April 2018 and it was becoming a worry. Playing away to Brighton in the final game before the international break was a way to finally put the malady to bed, but after taking a 1-0 lead into the half-time break, their joy was ended afterward, as the host struck twice in the second half to complete a 2-1 comeback win.

A team in crisis after losing four straight games, the first time in the history of Manchester City since the takeover. The last time they lost four straight games was in August 2006, when Englishman Stuart Pearce was the manager.

It was also the first time that a side managed by Pep Guardiola has lost four straight games across all competitions, but it was just about getting worse.

The club held back some of its player for the international games as it could not risk adding injuries to their current predicaments.

On Saturday, they played host to a Spurs side, who was winless in three previous away games and got beaten at home by Ipswich Town, who had not won in the Premier League, before the international break.

The same Spurs side, yet without their main center-back pair of Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, put four not-replied goals past Manchester City in the Ethiad, preventing Guardiola's side from scoring in a league home match since a 0-0 draw with Arsenal in March.

Why is Manchester City Struggling?

Manchester City's challenges are unusual for a club known to be a model of consistency. Under Pep Guardiola, they have set a series of impressive new records while they have also completely transformed into arguably the best team in the world.

They have been so good that they are considered the underdogs against no team in the world.

Despite recent challenges, it is still almost impossible to bet on them losing their next game due to the standard they've set and how assuring they are in their play.

Their struggles can be narrowed down to three reasons, primarily stemming from a combination of player injuries and the aging profile of some key figures. The last one is the loss of form of available players.

Deepening Injury Crisis

Currently, Manchester City is missing several stars, including Rodri, who provides vital control in midfield, and defender, Ruben Dias has been on the sideline since his substitution at half-time in the 2-1 loss to Spurs in the Carabao Cup last month.

Kevin De Bruyne has been in and out of the team since last season due to his consistent injuries since the UEFA Champions League final win over Inter in 2023, where he was taken off in the first half.

Others like Manuel Akanji, Kyle Walker, Nathan Aké, Jack Grealish, and John Stones have also had their fair share of injuries, while Mateo Kovacic and Jeremy Doku are still sidelined, youngster Oscar Bobb is out for the rest of the season.

The physical toll on the squad is evident, with Guardiola admitting that the team's struggles are partly due to the sheer number of injuries affecting both key starters and their backups.

Aging Declining the Efficiency of Stars

Several senior players, such as Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker, have shown the effects of wear and tear from prolonged, high-intensity football seasons.

The duo remain the longest-serving players at the club under Pep Guardiola and remained a core part of the set-up, even in their early 30s, none of the new players have been really up to standard stepping up in their absence.

De Bruyne, one of their most creative outlets of this era, has been sidelined with a long-term injury, leaving a void in playmaking responsibilities.

The Belgian started 15 of 18 Premier League appearances last season, which also contributed to why Erling Haaland struggled for goals at some stage of the season and finished with 27 league goals compared to 36 in his first season, where De Bruyne played almost double the appearances of last season.

Taking back Ilkay Gündogan a few months before his 34th birthday after he had left to join Barcelona also showed desperation on Pep Guardiola and the club's part, as it did mean they struggled to really identify what they needed in a world filled with young talents.

All three goalkeepers are in their 30s and by next summer, all of their defenders but Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol will be in their 30s. Youngster Jamai Simpson-Pusey hasn't been convinced in his appearances so far.

In midfield, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gündogan, and Mateo Kovacic are in their 30s, and Rodri, who is in his late 20s make up the main players. Pep Guardiola is still critical about handling more responsibilities to Matheus Nunes, who has started just three league games so far.

The attack is made up of players of the right age but aside from Erling Haaland, there is a lot of question mark on the reliability of others, not even Phil Foden is excused due to his performances so far this season.

Derailed Quality and Loss of Form of Available Players 

The phrase "stay humble ehh" would have been long gone from memories had things continued as they were before it was uttered by Erling Haaland to Mikel Arteta, but nay, hence it becomes a trend.

The Norwegian has scored just twice in seven Premier League games since he arrogantly said it to the Arsenal boss at full-time following their 2-2 draw at the Etihad in September.

The shortage of goals from Haaland has also affected the outcome of Manchester City games. Jack Grealish has failed to live up to his £100 million price-tag move from Aston Villa in the summer of 2021.

Phil Foden has been too off for a current holder of the Premier League Player of the Year award. The 24-year-old has one assist to show for nine games in the competition this season.

New players do not have the productivity of their predecessors. Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez scored loads of goals and assists but Savinho for instance, is yet to find the back of the net in 16 City games across all competitions while Doku has three shots on target in eight league appearances.

What Next for Manchester City?

The unpleasant situation is not expected to last longer, although they will experience the unexpected as the season progresses.

They could be back to winning ways as early as Tuesday night when they host Feyenoord in the UEFA Champions League but a tough task awaits in the weekend's Premier League fixture at Liverpool.

With Liverpool eight points clear at the top of the standing, a win for Pep Guardiola's side on Sunday will not only reassure fans of the capability of their team but also restore belief, that their season may not be over after all.

It is still very early into the season and just a couple of win could change everything.

Pep Guardiola knows it and for a tactician who never seems to run out of ideas, a different City side is expected to emerge on Tuesday, when Feyenoord visits the Etihad.

While it is still to be seen whether the club can go all the way and make it five straight league titles, what is obvious is that one of the greatest teams of this generation and arguably the best coach ever will turn things around, sooner, rather than later.