Rico Lewis calls on Man City team-mates to ‘stick together’ after latest defeat

Rico Lewis has called on his Manchester City teammates to 'stick together' after their sixth Premier League defeat of the season against Aston Villa.

City's latest defeat came at the hands of Aston Villa, who defeated the current champions 2-1 to hand them a ninth defeat from their last 12 games in all competitions.

Pep Guardiola's side fell behind thanks to goals from Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers, with Phil Foden's last-minute consolation not enough to salvage anything from another sub-par performance.

City have already lost twice as many league games this season as they did all of last season on their way to winning a fourth straight title.

Lewis, 20, admitted times are “difficult” at City at the moment.

He said: “There are leaders in the locker room who are natural leaders. They can talk, everyone listens and everyone agrees.

'But when it comes down to it, it's not about what's said in the dressing room, it's about the pitch and what we do on the pitch. That's what needs to be solved.

“Nobody goes on the field and says, 'I'm not doing that,' or 'I don't want to win.' Things are hard right now, but we have to stick together.

“There are several things you can put your finger on, but right now it's just not right.”

City's problems at the back continue to grow as they have kept just one clean sheet in their last ten games in all competitions.

Conceding twice on Saturday took their season total to 25, just nine short of their tally during the 2023/24 Premier League season.

Lewis added, “It's like if we give in, we're not supposed to give in.” As if it's not normal that it's part of the game.

'Everyone in world football concedes a goal at times, but because we hold ourselves to such high standards and when we give in we are so disappointed in ourselves, that's when you're going to see more mistakes coming.

'At the start of the season we initially conceded a few goals, but we bounced back straight away. That may have to do with self-confidence, many things, tired legs. But we have to get back to the way we want to be.”