Days after a poor performance was punished in a 2-0 derby loss to rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford, things got no better for a depleted City inside the Arctic Circle as they went down 3-1 to their Norwegian hosts.

Kasper Hogh scored twice inside three minutes midway through the first half and City never looked like getting back on level terms, falling 3-0 behind to a stunning strike from Jens Petter Hauge in the second half.

Rayan Cherki got one back moments after, but any hopes of an unlikely comeback were killed off when Rodri committed two bookable offences within seconds of one another to be sent off in the 62nd minute.

City’s only wins in their last seven games have been in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup, with three draws and a defeat in their last four league outings, starting with a 0-0 draw at Sunderland on New Year’s Day.

“Everything is a little bit turning against us for many, many things,” Guardiola said. “When we started New Year’s (Day) in Sunderland, we missed what we missed and then we started to get injuries. Matheus (Nunes) with the flu cannot be with us so it’s many, many things that are against (us).

“At that level, the Champions League or United at the top level, it’s always more difficult to have consistency that we had – one, two months, winning seven, eight games.

“Now, okay, we’ve lost important players, we’ve lost a little bit, but in general the tone of the team was much, much better than the last one.”

City dropped to seventh in the Champions League table, with a one-point cushion for automatic progression before next week’s final league phase match at home to Galatasaray, while they have fallen seven points behind leaders Arsenal in the Premier League.

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“I have the feeling the results since 2025 have not been good in terms of the Premier League and now (here),” Guardiola added. “Now we have four days until Wolves and after Galatasaray and we will see what happens.

“This was an incredible opportunity for us, but everything is the feeling that it is going wrong, going against us in many details. That is a fact and you have to try to change it, but the players are there and we will try.

“I don’t have any doubts in this competition. In the Premier League nothing is for granted, that’s for sure. The players when United beat us, they were better. (Here) it was with momentum that they punished us, but the team was there creating things.”