Pep Guardiola is questioning himself amid Manchester City's dire run of form, though he disagreed with Ilkay Gundogan's criticism of their performance against Juventus.
City are at risk of missing out on a Champions League play-off place after slipping to a 2-0 defeat in Turin on Wednesday, a result that leaves them 22nd in the 36-team table.
City have now lost seven of their last 10 matches across all competitions (one win, two draws), as many defeats as they suffered in their previous 105.
Since the start of November, meanwhile, they have conceded more goals across all competitions than any other team from Europe's top five leagues (21 in nine matches).
Following a 4-1 loss to Sporting CP and a 3-3 draw with Feyenoord, Guardiola has failed to win three straight Champions League group-stage games for the first time in his managerial career, while 2014-15 was the last time City endured a longer such run (four without winning).
Guardiola admits he is second guessing his own methods, but he insists City played well enough to warrant a result in Italy, saying: "Of course I question myself but I'm stable in good moments and bad moments.
"I try to find a way to do it. I'm incredibly honest. If we play good, I say we played good and today I thought we played good."
After the match, midfielder Gundogan told TNT Sports that City were "careless" in duels and were conceding too many dangerous attacks.
But with City enjoying 68.9% of the possession against Juventus and more than doubling the Bianconeri's tallies for touches in the box (34 to 13) and final-third entries (59 to 24), Guardiola remains content with many aspects of their performance.
"I am not agreeing with Ilkay," Guardiola said. "Of course it is tough but, except one or two games in this period, we've played good.
"Our game will save us. We can do it. We conceded few chances compared to the Nottingham Forest game that we won. We're making the right tempo.
"We missed the last pass, did not arrive in the six-yard box or have the composure at the right moment.
"But I love my team. This is life, it happens. Sometimes you have a bad period, but I'm going to insist until we're there."
Paris Saint-Germain and Club Brugge will be City's final two opponents in the first phase of the Champions League, as they visit France on January 22 before hosting the Belgians one week later.
Schlotterbeck injury is a 'complete disaster' for Dortmund, says Sahin
Borussia Dortmund have added defender Nico Schlotterbeck to their ever-growing injury list after he turned his ankle during their 3-2 defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The news of Schlotterbeck's injury comes just a day after head coach Nuri Sahin said Niklas Sule would be a long-term absentee, while Waldemar Anton is also unavailable.
Sahin said Schlotterbeck's absence would be a major blow after he was injured in the final move of the game while putting a header over in an attempt to equalise.
The 25-year-old was taken off the pitch on a stretcher and Sahin did not hold back when asked about the potential impact of his absence.
"It would be a complete disaster if he was also sidelined," Sahin said. "I don't have a diagnosis yet but obviously he is completely dejected.
"I saw the images and they are horrible. We will have a sleepless night tonight and then we will have to see how it develops tomorrow."
Dortmund's injury list has stretched to as many as 10 players at points this season and has taken its toll on their results.
The German side are currently sixth in the Bundesliga, 12 points behind leaders Bayern Munich.
The defeat to Barcelona on Wednesday, meanwhile, saw them drop to ninth in the Champions League table – one place outside the automatic last-16 qualifying spots.
"I am fuming because we played well," said Sahin. "We have to win these games. We deserved more in the second half.
"I do not want to hear that we played a good game. There is no room for mistakes and we have to learn that.
"We keep up with these top teams but in the end I want to sit here and say, 'we won the game'. That is the development we need."
Ashworth's shock exit 'not the best situation', says Amorim
Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has acknowledged the departure of sporting director Dan Ashworth is "not the best situation".
Ashworth had spent just 159 days with the club before his surprise exit was announced on Sunday, although Amorim believes the club's vision for the future remains unchanged.
"The first thing I want to say is that, since the first day, I felt great support from the ownership," said Amorim, who took charge on November 11.
"From Omar [Berrada, chief executive], from Dan also, from Jason [Wilcox, technical director]. Dan was part of that, and I really felt support from Dan also.
"But this is football and sometimes these things happen. It happens with players, with coaches.
"I know that it's not the best situation but the important thing is we continue in our way. The path is really clear for everybody and I think this can happen in football."
Amorim himself has only been in the job at Old Trafford for one month, having won two and drawn one of his five matches in charge in all competitions.
During the same press conference, he was asked whether he felt that the club was more unstable than when he had arrived last month.
"I don't think so," he said. "I've felt since day one the support from everybody, so one person leaving doesn't change anything.
"Of course, it's a bad situation, because we are talking about a human being, a professional, that supports us as a team.
"But I think the most important thing is that your vision is really clear and that vision doesn't change if only one person leaves."
Lewis-Skelly 'a joy to watch' says Arteta after Arsenal's Champions League win
Mikel Arteta described Arsenal's 18-year-old full-back Myles Lewis-Skelly as a "joy to watch" after he impressed in their comprehensive 3-0 Champions League win over Monaco.
At the age of 18 years and 76 days, Lewis-Skelly became the youngest player to start a Champions League game for Arsenal since Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain versus Olympiakos in 2011 (18 years, 44 days).
His inclusion owed to injuries keeping Oleksandr Zinchenko, Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu out, while Jakub Kiwior was required to deputise at centre-back and Jurrien Timber was limited to a place on the bench.
He made the most of his opportunity, though, completing 45 of his 47 passes attempted (96%).
That gave him the highest pass accuracy by an Arsenal teenager in a Champions League match (minimum 25 passes) since Johan Djourou versus Hamburg in September 2006 (97%) – the month in which Lewis-Skelly was born.
"A really proud moment," Arteta said of Lewis-Skelly's display. "He is one of our own and a joy to watch. It's great we can trust him to play in this environment."
On Arsenal's general performance, he added: "In the first half we should have put the game to bed but we didn't.
"In the Champions League you will have difficult moments and we suffered. Then with the second goal the game was under control."
Arsenal sit third in the 36-team Champions League table with two group-phase games remaining, ahead of facing Dinamo Zagreb and Girona next month.
Monaco, meanwhile, are 16th with 10 points after suffering back-to-back Champions League defeats.
"First of all, a deserved victory for Arsenal. Too many gifts from our side, it's not acceptable at this level," visiting coach Adi Hutter said.
"I was happy with the first 20 minutes and also until the second goal. The second half was really brave, but in the end there were too many big mistakes."
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