Man City's second-half frailties strike again

Man City's second-half frailties strike again

Manchester City managed to claw back a point away to Everton but suffered heavy damage in their title bid thanks to more second-half suffering.

The Citizens have conceded just 15 goals in the Premier League since the start of 2026 (with only Arsenal conceding fewer, 14) however City's goals appear to be uniquely concentrated in the second half – something that will have Pep Guardiola scratching his head.

Only three of the 15 league goals conceded in 2026 have come in the first halves of games (Kai Havertz 18', Konstantinos Mavropanos 35', and Lewis Hall 22') meaning that a remarkable 80% of the goals have all been conceded in the second half – or more specifically from the 53rd minute onwards.

Condensing the time further nine of the 15 league goals City have conceded in total in 2026 have come from the 56th to 76th minute – that's 60% of goals conceded in just a 20-minute window.

Whether it's an attempt at game management gone wrong, a concentration issue, or perhaps a variety of factors for Guardiola to try and fix, it stands out like a sore thumb.

In fact, looking at the season more broadly from the 61st to the 75th minute, Man City are one of the most vulnerable teams.

Only three teams have conceded more goals in that 15-minute block of 61st to 75th minute than the Citizens. City have let in 10 in that time behind  (11), (13), and (14) with all of those teams very much at the bottom end of the table.