GUARDIOLA DEMANDS PERFECT RUN-IN
City manager warns of complacency in their thrilling hunt for historic quadruple
PEP Guardiola is convinced nothing less than perfection will do if quadruple-chasing Manchester City are to fend off Liverpool and win the Premier League for a fourth time in eight seasons.
City jumped back to the top of the table on Saturday with a 2-0 win at Fulham to pile the pressure
on Jurgen Klopp’s men ahead of Liverpool’s clash with Tottenham at Anfield late yesterday.
But after watching Bernardo Silva and Sergio Aguero grab the goals to see off Fulham, Guardiola insisted the hard work is still to come as City maintain their incredible push for a historic trophy clean sweep.
“Now is the last part of the season, there are seven games left in the Premier League and it’s easy — if we want to be champions we have to win every game,” he said. “That will not be easy because we have tough, tough, tough opponents but that is the challenge.”
Liverpool will leapfrog City at the top of the table if they beat Spurs. But if Klopp’s men lose, Guardiola’s record-chasers could stretch their lead to four points on Wednesday night when they play Cardiff at home.
However, it wasn’t all good news for Guardiola, who then revealed an injury scare for Aguero. The Argentine striker limped off after 57 minutes at Craven Cottage but Guardiola is hopeful it’s not serious as City edge ever nearer to a famous quadruple.
“He said he felt something. As a precaution he decided not to continue,” said the City boss. “Hopefully it will not be a big issue.”
This is a massive, potentially season-defining ten days for City. After the visit of Cardiff, the League Cup winners head to Wembley on Saturday for an FA Cup semi-final showdown with top-flight strugglers Brighton and then next Tuesday they square up to Spurs in the first leg of their eagerly-awaited Champions League quarter-final.
And while the City boss must be slightly concerned about Aguero pulling up, he was given a double boost on Saturday with Fernandinho and Kevin De Bruyne returning to action after lay-offs.
Guardiola said: “I don’t complain after what we have done so far this season.
“If we were not in good shape we couldn’t be where we are right now. With Fulham’s position in the table, people can be confused and not understand the game we should play.
“But the way we started was amazing and my players surprised me again. The first 15-20 minutes was incredible and they showed me — or we showed ourselves — how focused we are to try to do our best.
“After the second goal, the game was under control. We missed one more goal and to play the last minutes is always more control to score more. It’s ok, after the international break, the people were tired. After the game they told me. I’m pretty sure that after the effort today, in the next game our pace will be a little bit better.”