The defeat at Newcastle saw City fall to third in the Premier League table below Chelsea. And Guardiola's side will slip seven points behind leaders Arsenal if the Gunners beat Tottenham in the north London derby on Sunday. Guardiola preferred not to comment on how much of a setback the loss was to City's hopes in the title race, merely responding: "The season is so long."
Guardiola also praised the performance of Eddie Howe's men. He added: "Newcastle is a top side, top players, top manager so unfortunately tonight we could not build on the momentum that we had. It was an entertaining game, we both had chances and then there was a momentum shift and ultimately we couldn't win.
"I'm pretty sure all of the teams prefer to play at home than away, we are not the exception for that. Always Newcastle have been difficult, even where they are low in the table and after two defeats in a row. After they clean the head and the mind and have ten days off, we can hit the good moments. We fought, the players were there, but we could not find the result."