City title defence ‘almost impossible if we lose to’ L’pool: Guardiola
Hampshire: Pep Guardiola says it will be “almost impossible” for Manchester City to defend their Premier League title if they don’t beat Liverpool on Thursday. City moved up to second and cut the gap on Liverpool to seven points when they recovered from back-to-back defeats to beat Southampton 3-1 at St Mary’s.
The champions can reduce the advantage further when the two sides meet at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday and Guardiola said it is a must-win game. “With the position of Liverpool, if we drop points then it is over, it is finished. It would be almost impossible,” Guardiola told a news conference after the win at Saints.
“Of course they are going to drop points, but not too many. If you want to be there as far as possible until the end we have to remember what happened last season.” Jurgen Klopp’s side remain unbeaten in the Premier League and Guardiola said Liverpool are one of the best teams in the world at the moment.
“We won a lot of games but unfortunately we lost two and we have a rival who at the moment is the best team in Europe, or in the world,” he added.
“That’s why it’s a challenge for us next Thursday, to try to win and sustain this position as far as possible to arrive at the end of the season fighting for the title. “We’re not here to send a message, Liverpool know what they have to do, we know what we have to do next Thursday.
“I know the distance is big -- seven points -- especially because they’re so solid and consistent, but we’re at home, hopefully our extra help from our people at the Etihad can help, they can support us. Not just for the game, but these players deserve it. What they have done in the last 14 or 15 months, how they defend this club, is incredible, it’s massive.
“In the winter break everyone loses games, except for Liverpool in this period, but everyone drops points, that’s normal. We spoke about responsibilities and what we are as a team and they did it today, that was fantastic.”
Score: Southampton 1-3 Man. City -ESPN