At 2:45 AM Beijing time on September 8, in the 6th round of Group J in the European World Cup qualifiers, Belgium faced Kazakhstan at home. In this match, Man City's discarded former top Premier League midfielder De Bruyne not only scored twice but also assisted his former teammate Doku to score, creating three goals single-handedly and helping Belgium crush Kazakhstan 6-0. Belgium secured their second consecutive World Cup qualifier win in the September international window. De Bruyne scored in back-to-back games; though he is 34, the veteran can still play for another 2-3 years.

Guardiola has truly lost his way over the past two years, repeatedly making poor choices in player selection. First, he sold Alvarez and Palmer, which led to the team winning no trophies last season; this summer, he let go of Grealish and De Bruyne. As a result, Man City lost two of their first three Premier League matches and have one point fewer than Manchester United, putting Guardiola’s job in greater jeopardy than Amolin’s.

Meanwhile, Grealish, whom Guardiola discarded, started consecutively for Everton, scoring twice in back-to-back Premier League games and providing four assists in just two starts—double his assist tally from the past two seasons at Man City. Thanks to his outstanding performance, Grealish has become Moyes’s favorite and a key offensive weapon for Everton.

Similarly, another player Guardiola let go, De Bruyne, has scored in Serie A for Napoli and continued his scoring streak during the September international fixtures, netting three goals and providing one assist in two games for Belgium, showing remarkable form. Guardiola has released players with attacking creativity and the ability to perform in tough matches, overly relying on Haaland. This season, Man City is destined for a difficult path.