Pep Guardiola has insisted that Liverpool remain Manchester City’s main rival in their defense of the Premier League title despite their slow start to the season.
The Reds will drop 16 points behind the Sky Blues if the champions win all three points at Anfield on Sunday, but the Spanish boss insists there is still a long way to go in the campaign despite Jurgen Klopp already ruling his team out. of the race for the title.
“It always has been, it always is and it always will be,” he said (via Independiente). “Because I know the quality they have, they know the quality we have.
“If I was asked this question with five or 10 games remaining, I would say that I think Liverpool cannot reach the top of the league, in that case Arsenal. But being in the position we are in, with the World Cup, anything can still happen”.
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The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager continued: “The table never played the game. Not just against Liverpool, in every game. The game is going to dictate what happens on the field, not because we are ahead or behind or that kind of thing”.
“The opinion I have about this team, nothing changed because of the situation in the table. Not a second.
Liverpool have beaten City in their last two meetings, however both games were played at neutral venues.
A 3-2 win in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley last year was followed by a 3-1 win for Klopp’s men in this season’s Community Shield clash at Leicester’s King Power Stadium in July. .
Guardiola believes his side have always played well when they have traveled to L4, however he expects more of the same tomorrow.
“I had the feeling that we have always played very well at Anfield. In other games, perhaps in the last two games we were a bit soft due to different circumstances”, added the former Blaugrana coach.
“You have to behave at the highest level with and especially without the ball, and to be active in a second ball and many many things. At Anfield, win or lose, we have always played with an incredible personality.
“You have to win the duels. When they push you, you have to push. When they are there, you have to be there. The FA Cup semi-finals, it was difficult to make up for the incredible effort we had put in in the Champions League.
“In the Community Shield, we weren’t ready yet. They were one step above us and without that, against that team, you can’t compete.”
A City victory would end Liverpool’s hopes of Premier League glory this season, as it would have to be suggested that recovering 16 points from the Citizens is a gargantuan task.
However, last season we found ourselves a significant number of points behind the Etihad team, and still carried the title race to the final day before losing by a single point.
We need to regain the confidence from our last two games with Guardiola’s team and hopefully get three wins in a row against them on Sunday.
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