Not in action in the last six hot weeks: Manchester City’s momentum. Here, too, it was missing from the recent dismal performance that has become the unmistakable face of Pep Guardiola’s once confident team.

There’s something surreal about City’s crash now. Of course, teams always lose runs, but the fact that this championship group lost for the seventh time in ten games and subsequently extended their worrying streak to a poor single win is astounding.

It’s baffling for Guardiola, who admits his men should have won more times than they have since their first defeat to Tottenham in the Carabao Cup on October 30. The manager’s statement came before this latest setback and may have been uttered as a “gee-up.”

It didn’t work. Instead, Juventus secured a valuable victory thanks to Dusan Vlahovic’s header in the 53rd minute and a second goal that came on the break when Timothy Weah played the ball into the goal from the right and Weston McKennie volleyed home.

In each case they were substitute players who were substituted by Thiago Motta. His opponent didn’t show a single effort in the 75th minute: another sign of how dazed Guardiola and his charges were. That leaves City in 22nd place, one point ahead of Paris Saint-Germain, whose 25th-place finish does not qualify for the playoffs and who they next face in January.

At kick-off, City and Juventus had eight points each, so it was a clash of continental giants who needed a win and the boost it would bring as they return to domestic duties. Guardiola exuded isolation, a loneliness that comes from serial losses, and for the first time in nine years as City’s captain, he cited injuries as compensation, but also named a strong eleven.

It featured Ilkay Gündogan as a defensive midfielder and Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish as twin playmakers. There was also Rico Lewis at left-back, and his defensive weakness was evident more than once, such as when Francisco Conceição overwhelmed him and Juve scored a corner.

Too many mistakes are a Guardiola diagnosis of City’s problems. The Catalan demanded a “simple game” from his charges and then saw Lewis and Josko Gvardiol strike passes that missed Grealish near the Italian penalty area.

Gündogan and Kyle Walker did the same: on the left they found Nicolo Savona instead of Jérémy Doku. The second incident left Guardiola shaking his head. When De Bruyne actually found his man, the ball bounced off his toes due to Erling Haaland’s clumsy touch.

The city thrives when they pounce like a tiger, and for a fleeting moment they remembered that. Doku scampered upfield, De Bruyne recognized his run, possession was transferred and a quick cross prompted Juve to throw bodies at the ball to clear it.

Walker seems to have been written off – strangely – everywhere as suddenly geriatric and so slow that he runs backwards. If the right-back is an easy sinner for City’s problems – he is 34 and may have lost a fraction – the mistake that led Vlahovic to deny Ederson’s goal will have caused those making the obituaries to turn up have written about their careers, feel validated.

The broader story for City was the same, which has become no surprise. They lacked drive and confidence: a strange state of affairs for the Premier League champions of the last four seasons, which will seem even stranger in retrospect.

To get City back to what they once were, and what Guardiola is sure they will be again, replacements are needed. De Bruyne provided a moment that might have helped, but Haaland botched his part. A turn-and-dragback was followed by a sweet pass that wrong-footed Juve and brought Haaland into the game. But he couldn’t finish and Guardiola rocked on his heels in frustration, not for the first time.

His next act was clapping his hands above his head, used for excessive encouragement. It was fitting after Walker fired a short pass straight at De Bruyne. Guardiola’s arms went up and City’s flat play continued.

Thiago Motta’s men were stuck in their own rut and unable to put things in order, so City kindly helped them out in their latest defensive farce. After Federico Gatti’s scissor kick was blocked by Ederson, Gvardiol’s free throw missed Walker and left the ball to Manuel Locatelli. He crossed, Vlahovic headed it, and although the ball hit the goalkeeper directly, the ball bounced off his chest and, despite a desperate dive, squeezed into the bottom left corner.

Juve were in 14th place. Grealish’s dancing feet slipped into Bernardo Silva but his shot was blocked. Rúben Dias had spoken of the team’s efforts as a chance to show character, but Ederson missed another cross and City faltered.

Where did the carousel go? The swagger and security in front of goal? As in Guardiola’s first season, there was a lack of conviction. City remained without a trophy at the time. Maybe they’ll do it again this season.