WHO CAN TAKE THE PRESSURE?
Liverpool 2 Watford 0 Burnley 0 Man City 2 Klopp warns City: We won’t give you an inch Pep admits next weekend is the title decider
JURGEN KLOPP has warned Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City that Liverpool will not ‘give an inch’ in the title race ahead of their huge Premier League showdown next weekend.
Klopp’s team briefly went top of the league for the first time since December after beating Watford in yesterday’s early kick-off, only for City to leapfrog them with victory over Burnley.
Liverpool trailed City by 14 points in January but have closed the gap to one point and Guardiola admitted that his side cannot afford to lose another game to retain the title.
Klopp, who was in triumphant mood after the 2-0 win at Anfield, said of his celebrations: ‘It was nothing to do with being top of the league. I didn’t think about that. But we can’t give an inch. To keep in the title race we have to win our games. The next game is a big one, we can’t hide from that.’
He added: ‘I really appreciate the situation we’re in. I said to the boys on Friday, the first time we are all together, if someone had told us in the summer that we in early April in the situation we are in, in all the competitions, won one trophy and have a full squad available… we all would have taken it. Absolutely.’
Guardiola, who complained that Turf Moor grass was too long after his 2-0 triumph, said: ‘There are eight games left, 24 points. We
spoke about that, we have to feel the pressure that every game we play, if we lose we will be out,’ he said. ‘It’s as simple as that.
‘Hopefully Liverpool will lose against us, but apart from that I don’t think they will drop points. We have to feel this pressure and handle it. We did it in the past. Otherwise we will not be the champions.’
The two title rivals meet at the Etihad next Sunday in what should prove to be a season defining clash. ‘To be honest we don’t speak much about being contenders to be champion this season,’ Guardiola (right) added. ‘We will fight. The opponent is so tough and good but they said, “We will make it a proper battle” and we accept that.’
First-half goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan meant City cruised to victory over, but Guardiola was not happy with the pitch’s condition.
‘It is the longest I have ever played in the Premier League but it is away and the home team can decide the decisions,’ he moaned.
‘I can say that because we won, otherwise I would not make the comment because it looks like an excuse from the losing side. The grass was so high and when that happens it is a little bit more difficult for us and our rhythm.
‘But with the way we played it wasn’t that important as the players adapted.’
Burnley manager Sean Dyche, whose side will be at least four points behind 17th-placed Everton when the teams meet on Wednesday, contested Guardiola’s criticism.
‘The standard they set is 30mm and we’re at 28mm,’ he said. ‘It’s about what we do from now. We still have 10 games left and are still in a fight. We have 10 efforts to get ourselves correct and move forward.’