Pep Guardiola in a post-match interview
Pep Guardiola appeared to concede the title race
Pep Guardiola confessed this season is just about "surviving" for Manchester City following their dramatic 2-2 draw at Crystal Palace.
The deflated Spaniard, who has led City to just one win in their past nine matches in all competitions, appeared to accept the Premier League title could now prove a step too far this term due to the champion's wretched form, with Liverpool eight points ahead at the top, with a game in hand after the Merseyside Derby against Everton was postponed earlier on Saturday.
Guardiola said: "This season started difficult and will be more difficult than last season. We have to survive this season, every game, try to take points to win games and go forward. We know it and feel it and unfortunately we are also missing important players."
It would get worse for City too, as their plane back to Manchester from Biggin Hill Airport was cancelled due to Storm Darragh.
Erling Haaland and Kyle Walker moment that sums up where it's all going wrong for Man City
[
West Ham issue Michail Antonio update after star hospitalised by serious car crash](https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/breaking-west-ham-michail-antonio-34270405)
Guardiola also slammed his team's vulnerability from set-pieces – despite strongly dismissing suggestions his struggling champions are tired. When quizzed if that was the case, he swiftly responded: "Tired? No." He then continued: "On the set pieces now they are stronger than us, every single team."
The City boss also claimed he "didn't see" the red card incident involving Rico Lewis despite his full-time protests before concluding: "I’m so pleased for Oliver Glasner. He’s doing an incredible job. A lovely person."
Meanwhile, the Crystal Palace boss felt his side could have taken all three points. The Austrian said after the Eagles made it four matches unbeaten in all competitions: "We are pleased with the point and many parts of the performance. It feels like if we'd performed at our best level we could have won the game.
Man City endured another poor away day ( Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
"We had a few other good opportunities. An unbeaten week with draws against Newcastle and Manchester City, everything is fine. We want to improve and get better in some situations and we could win those games."
Daniel Munoz put Palace ahead after just four minutes after beating a sluggish City offside trap. Erling Haaland equalised with a header from Matheus Nunes’ cross, but Palace took the lead once again through Maxence Lacroix.
The away side showed heart to equalise for a second time through Rico Lewis, but the City youngster was dismissed for a second yellow card to compound Guardiola’s problems. "Really good. So proud of the team. I liked everything of the team, how we fought. We have a lot of problems with our squad,” the City boss added to Sky Sports.
"We fought incredible. We came back twice. It's a difficult place to come. We struggled in the beginning. We gave everything and we take a point. Long balls, second balls, they're stronger than us. We started the second half a bit sloppy. After 2-1 we reacted well. We lost another player defensively for the next game for a second yellow card."
Join our new WhatsApp communityand receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
Sky Sports deal
Sky Sports launches discounted Premier League package £46 (was £56)
Sky has slashed the price of its Sky Sports, Sky Stream, Sky TV and Netflix bundle in an unbeatable new deal that saves £240 and includes 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky
Get the deal here