Pep Guardiola considers Liverpool to have a life in the title race with Manchester City after the two clubs drew in matchday 31.
Twice the lead, twice also Man City failed to maintain the score. Kevin De Bruyne’s goal was returned by Diogo Jota, then Gabriel Jesus’ goal was equalized by Sadio Mane.
The ambition of Manchester City to get three points and now The Citizens are still one point ahead of the Reds in the standings.
For Guardiola, failure to score points is the same as lighting Liverpool’s hopes in the race for the Premier League title this season.
“I feel we gave them life from this game but Liverpool was interesting to watch, I know how good they are and there’s no doubt about that but I’m very proud of my team,” said Guardiola.
With a draw at the Etihad Stadium, Guardiola is targeting victory in his remaining seven matches.
“We know a bad result from a match will end in failure to win. Will it be easy? Of course not but it will be difficult for them too,” explained the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach.
“Seven games in the Premier League is plenty [to win], it’s a tough game and they’ve had tough games too. I don’t know what will happen but our performance over the course of the season against a team with the form they’ve put in, I proud,” he continued, quoted from The Guardian.
Man City currently leads the standings with 74 points and followed Liverpool with 73 points. The fight for the title can be said to only involve the two clubs. Chelsea, who is in third place, now has 62 points.
Liverpool players also did not dodge if there was hope for Kevin De Bruyne and his friends to lose points so that they paved the way for Liverpool to win the Premier League title.
“We want to win all games, no matter who the opponent is. It emphasizes that we are disappointed not to win here. It is very important for us to avoid defeat in this match, we are still in a decent position but the opportunity is still in their hands,” said Trent Alexander-Arnold told beIN Sports after the Man City vs Liverpool match.
“A few years ago this happened. They went very well and we couldn’t take advantage of that. Hopefully, now, they will drop points for us,” he continued, quoted from the Liverpool Echo.
The Reds captain, Jordan Henderson, also did not imply hope behind the narrow points difference and Man City’s chances of stumbling against opponents in the rest of the season.
Henderson considers the failure to get full points at the Etihad Stadium is not the end of everything because chances are still awake.
“We’ll have to wait and see [what happens]. They didn’t drop a lot of points. We know that and have to concentrate on ourselves, keep trying to get as many wins as possible, so when they slip up, we’re behind them,” said Henderson. quoted from the Manchester Evening News.
“There are still games to play, it’s not the end of the world, stay positive and keep going until the end.”
