Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City, shows dejection after defeat in the Premier League match between Aston Villa FC and Manchester City FC at Villa Park on December 21Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City, shows dejection after defeat in the Premier League match between Aston Villa FC and Manchester City FC at Villa Park on December 21
Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City, shows dejection after defeat in the Premier League match between Aston Villa FC and Manchester City FC at Villa Park on December 21 | Getty Images
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola appears to have conceded the Premier League title to Liverpool, Chelsea or Arsenal.
City came into the new season looking to win a fifth-straight domestic crown. They made history last term by becoming the first side ever to win four consecutive top flight titles in England. However, a monumental dip in form has saw them win just one of their last 12 games in all competitions. It has left them well off the pace in the title fight with Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal the three leading contenders to finish top come the end of the campaign.
Guardiola admits top-four battle
"When I said before, people laughed," said Guardiola. "They said, 'qualifying for the Champions League is not a big success'. But I know it because it happens with clubs in this country. They were dominant for many years and after they were many years not qualifying for the Champions League.
"The one team that has been in the Champions League for the past years has been Manchester City. Now we are at risk, of course we are. Definitely. There are a lot of contenders. For every club it is so important and if we are not winning games, we will be out. If we don't qualify it is because we don't deserve it, because we were not prepared and because we had a lot of problems and didn't solve them."
The contenders for a Champions League spot
Arsenal and Chelsea are comfortably in the top four as the season approaches the halfway point while Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest have been the surprise packages this season. Forest sit fourth ahead of the Boxing Day games with Fulham six points adrift of those spots and Tottenham Hotspur a further two points back alongside Brentford.
Reflecting on the season so far, Ange Postecoglou said: "No, I don’t think you feel unlucky. Over the course of a season, you’d like to think it all evens out. There are circumstances to where we’re at in terms of position in the table. A lot of that is down to inconsistency in performances, sometimes inconsistency in games, but also inconsistency in the kind of team we can put out there. All those things have damaged our ability to get into a stronger position in the league but, as you said, and I’ve said all along, I still think there’s growth in the team. I still think there’s positive things within what we’re doing. Notwithstanding that, we need to improve our position."
Continue Reading