New Delhi: Pep Guardiola has maintained that Manchester City have “no chance” of defending their Premier League title despite the win against Leicester City providing with brief moment of respite. The win came after a long five winless games for City across competition as they dominated at the King Power Stadium with 2-0 win despite Leicester, standing at relegation zone, having more possession and created more chances.
Reflecting on the game to Sky Sports, Guardiola noted that it wasn’t “enjoyable” in the current scenario having achieved incredible heights as a team over the years. While the win ensures that they end the year in fifth place, for now, they are 14 points behind Premier League point leader, Liverpool, who won 5-0 against West Ham on Sunday.
🔵☀️ Pep Guardiola: “The sun will rise. Manchester City will be back”.
“The greatest test when things are going badly. The greatest test that I’ve done”.
“We will come back and that’s what already happened. But that makes me remember how good was the past. That’s the truth”… pic.twitter.com/wFe2kQROZM
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 29, 2024
The Spanish manager noted that the team didn’t have the firepower to “sustain” the complete 90 minutes of the game. However, the win did give the club relief and an opportunity to “clear their mind”. Despite the result, Guardiola felt that the team didn’t have it in them to win the Premier League yet. Still, Guardiola felt that consistency would help his side to fight for the FA Cup and finish at the top of the Premier League.
Manchester City’s inability to ‘sustain’
Rudd van Nistelrooy’s men are still placed 18th in the Premier League table as both Savinho and Erling Haaland’s efforts ensured that Guardiola’s 500th game at the helm of the team was a memorable one. Guardiola noted that there were many occasions when the Citizens were outplayed by their opponents but maintained that he was happy with the result.
Guardiola admitted that Leicester were better in the second half as his side failed to retain the “aggression and pressing” for the entirety of the game. Guardiola maintained that it was the loss against Manchester United in the middle of December that had crumbled their confidence the most. Guardiola pointed out that the game was mentally challenging and was followed by a loss to Aston Villa and a draw against Everton.
Guardiola was happy that the players were able to fight and concluded that for now, they have to win as much and as consistently as possible. City are now going to be out of action until the next weekend, giving them time to regroup.
After winning against Leicester City, Pep Guardiola has noted that Manchester City are nowhere close to being Premier League title contenders this season. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
