Pep Guardiola has suggested that if Liverpool beat Manchester City at Anfield next weekend his team could already be out of the Premier League title race.
City lost their fifth consecutive game in all competitions and third straight league game with a heavy 4-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
Guardiola’s side face Feyenoord in the Champions League on Tuesday before travelling to Anfield five days later.
Liverpool can move eight points clear if they beat Southampton on Sunday and Guardiola was asked after losing to Spurs whether an 11-point gap — if City lose to Arne Slot’s team — would be too much to overhaul even at this stage of the season.
“Yeah, it’s true,” he said. “We’re not thinking about winning or losing [the title], we are not in the situation to think about what is going to happen at the end of the season.
“If in the end we don’t win it’s because we don’t deserve it. We won it in the past because we deserved it.
“What we have to do now is [beat] Feyenoord. That is the most important thing — first for the qualification for the CL [Champions League] — and step by step the players will be better.”
Not only have City lost five consecutive games for the first time in 18 years, they’ve also conceded 14 goals during the run. Defensive injuries haven’t helped and there were more problems against Spurs when John Stones was forced off at half-time.
“We are a bit fragile right now, that is obvious,” Guardiola said.
“We have to break the results because the victories help us to be more positive and confident and we have to do it. But after eight years here I knew sooner or later we would drop. I never expected to lose three Premier League games in a row but we have been incredibly consistent again and again and again and now we cannot deny the reality that sometimes happens in football and life is here.”
Meanwhile, Tottenham are up to sixth after a blistering display of counter-attacking football. James Maddison scored twice on his 28th birthday before second half goals from Pedro Porro and substitute Brennan Johnson.
“You don’t come to a place like this expecting it is going to be as convincing as it was for us,” Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou said.
“City test you in every football way possible.
“After a really disappointing game last game [against Ipswich] we got back to our core beliefs. Credit to the lads, they were outstanding. We had to weather a storm and then grew into a game. I’m so pleased for the players. It furthers our progression.”
