Guardiola told Man City trio must go after morphing from 'invincibles ...

Pep Guardiola must show a ruthless streak and axe three veteran players if Manchester City are to avoid a multi-season decline, a journalist has claimed.

Man City were played off the park at Anfield on Sunday, with only Liverpool’s wayward finishing preventing the scoreline from turning ugly.

The defeat was Man City’s sixth in their last seven matches. The only outlier came in the Champions League when City threw away a three-goal lead to draw with Feyenoord.

The ongoing absence of Rodri – sidelined with an ACL injury – is unquestionably the biggest issue affecting Guardiola right now. However, Rodri’s injury isn’t the only problem, with more than a handful of usually-reliable City stars woefully out of form at present.

When writing for talkSPORT, journalist Henry Winter insisted Guardiola must preside over wholesale changes to his squad if they’re to avoid a repeat of this season’s struggles next year. Winter’s headline read: ‘From Invincibles to Invisibles – Man City should be embarrassed and Pep Guardiola must address ageing squad.’

Zeroing in on precisely who must be turfed out, Winter namechecked three players whose time could and perhaps should be up at the Etihad.

‘Time has caught up with some like Kyle Walker, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva,’ wrote Winter. ‘A relentless workload has temporarily drained others like Phil Foden.

‘City need new blood, new energy. The winds of change may only be felt positively through an open transfer window and Guardiola’s coaching and man-management.

‘Too many of his players look stuck in quick-sand and he’s struggling to pull them out.’

READ MORE: The key contract details of every Man City first-team player: Expiry dates, weekly wages, agents…

Walker and Gundogan are both 34 years of age, while Silva is 30. Walker and Silva are contracted until 2026, meaning City must actively attempt to sell the pair if they’re to get rid.

Gundogan, meanwhile, signed a one-year deal upon returning from Barcelona last summer. The contract contains an option for an extra 12 months to cover the 2025/26 season.

Gundogan has done little to suggest that option should be activated since re-joining the club.

Winter wasn’t finished with Walker and Silva in particular, with the journalist highlighting the part Walker played in Liverpool’s opening goal.

‘[Salah] crossed for [Cody] Gakpo to score from close range at the far post,’ added Winter. ‘Where was Kyle Walker? Wrong post-code.’

Silva and Walker – the latter of which is Man City’s captain – also received criticism for showing a lack of leadership when arguing with the officials at half-time instead of digging out their under-performing teammates.

‘Silva, Walker and [Rico] Lewis had the temerity to walk off at the break, debating decisions with the officials,’ continued Winter.

‘They should have saved their breath for calling some of their team-mates like [Matheus] Nunes out.’

GO DEEPER: Five players Man City must urgently sign replacements for as Guardiola crisis deepens

In other news, Erling Haaland was mocked by pundit Jamie Carragher with a literal dad joke in the aftermath of City’s defeat at Anfield.

Carragher wrote on X: “Virgil van Dijk’s performance today was unbelievable! (I know he made a mistake at the end!) He made Erling Haaland look like Alf-Inge Haaland!

“The best striker v best centre-back should be a great battle, but it’s so easy for him.”

Elsewhere, TBR Football claim Man City scouted two left-backs in Wolves’ clash with Bournemouth last weekend – Rayan Ait-Nouri and Milos Kerkez.

Kerkez got on the scoresheet as the Cherries secured a 4-2 victory at Molineux. The Hungarian – who is also on Liverpool and Manchester United’s radars – bagged both assists when Bournemouth beat Man City 2-1 on November 2.