EURO FLOP’S PUT HEAT ON RATTLED PEP

PEP GUARDIOLA’S six-day nightmare has sparked a Spanish inquisition about whether he really is all he’s cracked up to be.

Three successive defeats – two to Liverpool in the Champions League and a home loss to Manchester United – and suddenly the Pep talk is largely negative.

It’s all a far cry from two months ago when a fabulous quadruple still looked possible.

Prior to the shock 1-0 FA Cup defeat by Wigan on February 19, City were 16 points clear in the Premier League, into the Carabao Cup final and had just thrashed Basel 4-0 away in the Champions League.

But there had been a big clue about City’s fragility and what might be coming, a 4-3 loss to Liverpool in the league on January 14.

It was the first sign that Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp had worked out how to rattle and beat Guardiola in England as well as in Germany.

Ranting

Despite losing 5-0 at the Etihad earlier in the season, Klopp’s men still had total belief in their game.

In all three victories they pressed and hassled City high up the field as if their lives, never mind careers, depended on it.

There was a certain irony when Guardiola and City, who would never resort to the long ball, conceded their eighth and final goal of the last week – Kop star Roberto Firmino intercepting a ball out of defence from Nicolas Otamendi in the final quarter of the pitch.

In the course of the past week, Guardiola (right) has appeared to unravel, off the pitch as well as on it.

Against United on Saturday, there was the strange sight of him ranting at Fabian Delph for turning back towards goal, apparently unaware the full-back had then sparked a move which led to City hitting the post.

Defending, of course, has been a major issue with City recently, with eight goals conceded in six days.

Then there have been the selection controversies – like leaving out Raheem Sterling for the first leg at Anfield and keeping super

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striker Sergio Aguero and his inspirational skipper Vincent Kompany on the bench on Tuesday for most of the second leg.

Oasis legend and City fan Liam Gallagher certainly wasn’t impressed, complaining: “No Sergio no Vincent Kompany f*** rite off Pep.”

There is also the argument that Guardiola has run some of his stars into the ground, most notably the brilliant Kevin De Bruyne.

Tuesday’s game was the 26-year-old’s 51st appearance of the season, including 14 in January and February, 12 of them starts.

As the season draws to a close, it seems incredible that a League and League Cup double will be seen as a disappointment.

To be fair to Guardiola, he never claimed winning all four was ever on. And he has had his fair share of bad luck – notably Leroy Sane’s disallowed goal on Tuesday and the failure of referee Martin Atkinson to send off Ashley Young and give a penalty after the full-back’s wild lunge on Aguero on Saturday.

The Guardiola aura could dim further if City lose at Tottenham on Saturday.

That would match the four-in-a-row losses he suffered at Bayern Munich in his last days at the German giants.

And after two early exits, you have to wonder how many more seasons of European failures will be allowed by owner Sheikh Mansour.