Former Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has hit out at the "reaction" to Liverpool fans singing about Pep Guardiola in the recent meeting between the sides at Anfield in the Premier League.
Supporters from the home team sang about Guardiola being "sacked in the morning" with Liverpool two goals up. And the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss responded by raising six fingers to represent the number of league titles he has won in England.
"I don't get the attention about Guardiola’s reaction to the Anfield crowd," Aguero told Stake. "It was a natural reaction to what Liverpool's side was chanting. Did Pep say anything that wasn't factual? We've won six Premier League titles over the last few years and that's a cold hard fact."
Now eight points behind Liverpool having played a game more than the Reds, Manchester City faces an uphill task to get back into Premier League title contention. Arne Slot's men have a commanding lead while Guardiola's side has won just one in its last 10 games in all competitions, conceding 23 times in that run.
"Manchester City’s aim will be the usual: keep fighting until the very end," Aguero continued. "We stumbled at the beginning, but we are still in the race and it's just midseason. There's a long way to go and no telling what's to happen.
"The Premier League has always been prone to upsets and surprises — many teams had a rough start to the season and came out on top, and the opposite is also true. So we can't really foresee what's going to happen. So the aim should always be the same: win.
Man City head coach Pep Guardiola.
Man City head coach Pep Guardiola. (Image: Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)
"City aims to take it all. I don't think there's any need to resize our goals at this time of the season. It may look a bit cloudier right now, but this is Manchester City. Time after the time, we've proven that we don't throw the towel.
"Is this season similar to 19/20? That remains to be seen. No season is really like any other. Liverpool has built up a distance but there's four or five teams in the prowl. Before, we only had two contenders. It's too soon for comparisons. We'll see what's to come.
"No contender is truly off the fray just yet. As I've said, there's still half a season to play out. Lots of points to be won and lots of them will slip out of reach too. Never forget: we are talking about the Premier League."
Liverpool.com says: It is a "cold hard fact" that Manchester City has won six of the last seven Premier League titles but that won't help this time around. We are at the point now where we can be pretty sure that there will be a new name on the trophy in May given how far behind Guardiola's men are.