Arguing with Pep, mysterious injuries, Haaland anger - Why Man City have stopped winning

Seventeen games into the season and Manchester City are in crisis, regardless of what Pep Guardiola says.

Guardiola was surprisingly upbeat at Brighton after watching a fourth defeat in a row, calmly accepting that maybe City's era of dominance is coming to an end. He knows the root of their struggles this season stems back to the relentless injury issues which in turn have their roots in the never-ending schedule.

You could say that City are victims of their own success, but Guardiola also insisted that if their era is to end it won't be through a lack of fight on their part.

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Here, MEN Sport look at where things are going wrong for City - and how they can fix it:

When the injured players return, Guardiola says, things will be different.

He has a point - 11 players have missed games or been unavailable for fitness and injury reasons this season, already reaching 45 separate instances of a player being unable to play. The current injury total stands at nine, with at least two more playing when not fully fit.

Teenagers have been fast-tracked from the academy to help plug gaps, while others like Rico Lewis and Josko Gvardiol have been used more than Guardiola would have liked. Their performances are starting to reflect that, even if they are better-equipped at starting three games a week.

Some injuries have been easily explained - like Rodri or Oscar Bobb. Others have been more mysterious, vague issues like Grealish's ongoing absence or Jeremy Doku's recurring muscular problems. Phil Foden said he and others