SOUTHAMPTON (AFP) - Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says he is struggling to understand why his team score so many goals and limit the opposition to so few chances but have still lost nine Premier League matches this season.
City, who relinquished the league title to Liverpool, lost 1-0 at Southampton on Sunday (July 5) despite dominating possession (73 per cent) and peppering the Saints goal with more than 20 shots.
Striker Che Adams sealed victory for 13th-placed Southampton and condemned City, who beat Liverpool 4-0 in their last game, to a third successive league defeat away from home. Champions Liverpool have lost twice in the league all season.
"We're leading in goals. We create a lot of chances," said Guardiola, who lost a third straight away league game for the first time in his managerial career.
"We're a team who concede less - no team conceded as few chances as us but we lost a lot of games.
"It's difficult even for me to find a reason why but you have to insist and talk about the game, the way they play and try to do more, concede as few as possible and score up front." Guardiola backed City to return to winning ways at home against Newcastle United on Wednesday.
"I have confidence we can do it because we are the same guys and we did it in previous seasons," he added.
"This season the way we are playing is quite similar but it is not enough to win the games."
Liverpool, meanwhile, are on course to beat City's mark of 100 points in a Premier League campaign but the champions are not focused on breaking records, manager Jurgen Klopp has said..
Liverpool, who won 2-0 at Aston Villa on Sunday thanks to goals by Sadio Mane and Curtis Jones, need 12 points from their final five games to beat City's tally from the 2017-18 season.
"We didn't come here and have the numbers we have because we thought about breaking records. We were always focused 100% on the game and that will not change," said Klopp, whose side made it 17 wins out of 17 games at Anfield this season.
"If we want to have record points pretty much we have to win all the games, it's not complicated. The boys know it and it's not necessary to mention it to this group."
Liverpool next visit 15th-placed Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday.
