Pep Guardiola said he “does not know” if his
Manchester City side can overcome a nine-point
deficit and catch leaders Liverpool in the Premier
League title race.
City who are aiming to become the first side since
Manchester United in 2009 to win three consecutive
titles but now sit fourth in the Premier League. With 9 point below Liverpool
“I am not a magician; I don’t know the future,”
Guardiola said.
“We have Chelsea at home next. We will try to beat
them.”
Manchester City are now in a not dissimilar position to last
term, when the Reds opened up a 10-point lead
over Guardiola’s side after 20 games, although at
that stage Liverpool had played one match more.
However, City then went on a remarkable run,
dropping just three points in their remaining 18
games, which included a victory over the Reds at
Etihad Stadium.
The pivotal moment in that game came via a
dramatic goalline clearance by John Stones.
But City were on the wrong side of a match-defining
moment on this occasion when they were convinced
they should have been awarded a penalty for a Trent
Alexander-Arnold handball moments before Fabinho
struck the opening goal.
Guardiola appeared visibly upset by the decision to
allow the goal, suggesting any questions about it
should be put to Mike Riley, general manager of
Professional Game Match Officials Limited, the
body responsible for referees in English
professional football.
The City manager offered no comment on the
incident beyond saying:
“Ask Mike Riley and his
people please.”
He added:
“Congratulations to Liverpool, they
scored three, we got one but I’m so proud of my
team, few teams can come here and play the way
we did.
“We started incredibly well, we showed incredible
bravery, they are the champions of Europe and it is
the most difficult stadium in the world. We played
like back-to-back champions.
“We cannot deny how good Liverpool are but the
way we played, the personality, it was good.”
‘I can celebrate tonight’ –
Klopp Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp called the frenetic
nature of the game “incredible” and “really wild”,
even if Fabinho’s opener met with a muted
response from the German.
“The problem was the VAR. I saw the discussions
before the first goal and I was just waiting,”
Klopp said.
“It is not the same any more but it is no problem. I
can celebrate tonight. It was so tough to play, the
intensity of the game was so clear. It was all worth
it, really great.”
Headers from Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane put
Liverpool in control before Bernardo Silva pulled a
goal back for the champions.
But it was not enough to prevent Liverpool from
enhancing their prospects of a first domestic title
for 30 years.
Only Manchester United (nine points in 1993-94)
have enjoyed a bigger advantage at this stage of a
Premier League season, with Klopp’s side now
eight points clear of Leicester and Chelsea at the top.
But despite that margin, Klopp played down its
significance, with his squad now facing a busy run
of fixtures between 23 November and 2 January.
“It’s not important,” he added. “Who wants to be
first in early November? It’s important to be top in
May.
“Each point we have we need to go through the
most intense period ever.”
Young-po Reporters 