Guardiola: Beating Liverpool will not affect next season
PEP Guardiola was delighted with City’s victory over Liverpool, but doesn’t believe it will be significant in the Premier League.
Having given Jurgen Klopp’s side a guard of honour onto the pitch, the Blues blasted them away with three first-half goals before Raheem Sterling wrapped up a thumping 4-0 win in the second half to inflict Liverpool’s second league defeat of the season.
City’s manager, however, did not see the performance as a reaction from his players or a signal that they will remain a force to be reckoned with next season.
“When a team wins eight titles from the last 10 competitions they play, it is because they are an incredible team like we are.
“The results Liverpool have done, nobody could stop them this season here or in any other country, but what we have done in these years is something unique and exceptional and is not going to change because we beat Liverpool or lose against Liverpool.
“When one team wins 8/10 titles they played, I don’t need one game against Liverpool show me they are hungry.
“Next season will be next season. We weren’t consistent enough this season, we made mistakes but it is really important for us for Madrid (in the Champions League) and Arsenal (in the FA Cup semi-final). Next season is far away.”
Guardiola did not want to take anything away from Liverpool, and refused to accept that it was a below-par performance from them something Klopp also railed against that saw the players switch off now that the title is secure.
While the City manager was keen not to talk about next season, he is hopeful this victory can help City in their pursuit of FA Cup and Champions League glory.
“The gap to Liverpool is more than 20 points. That is the difference between one team and the other,” he said. “Two seasons ago it was 25, now it is 20. That result is the reality – they were incredible, much better than us and we were not consistent.
“We have to improve the consistency that we had in previous seasons that it doesn’t matter anywhere we play, we take points.
“But I am happy that we beat the English and European champions when they were incredibly focused to beat us. I saw their faces, the way they shouted, communicated, they wanted it.
“They didn’t come here to celebrate absolutely anything. They came here to compete against us without a doubt. That’s why for us, to prepare for Arsenal and Madrid, this game will be so important to show we can do it, but next season will be completely different. Everyone starts from zero and we have to show that we can do what we have done these last years winning a lot of titles in a lot of competitions.”