LONDON • Pep Guardiola's 100th Premier League game had looked to be a mere formality after Sergio Aguero's opener against Newcastle after only 24 seconds - the quickest Premier League goal this season.
However, his players failed to build on their lightning start as Manchester City slumped to a shock 2-1 loss at St James' Park on Tuesday to put their title defence in jeopardy.
Although Guardiola, who is now facing the hardest challenge of his stewardship, insisted post-game the title race was not over as "there are still many games and anything can happen", there seemed to be a hint of resignation with leaders Liverpool in the box seat.
He said: "We had a chance today to reduce the lead. Tomorrow is a game for our opponents. When you are behind, you have to win games and we couldn't do that."
Denying that the English champions had underestimated Newcastle, he added: "We'd never do that and that's the reason why we're still in four competitions. That's why we recorded 100 points last season.
"It's just sometimes, we don't play at the level we want to play and that can happen, that's something I understand completely."
But after admitting "it was not our best night" with their flat and careless display on Tyneside, talk of an unprecedented quadruple will be on the back-burner for now .
The Spaniard said: "I know the challenge is big, being in all competitions is what it is. If you want to go up as a club, you have to accept that challenge. I prefer to be in that position."
THERE IS STILL TIME
A lead of seven points is a lot but we're not in April or May. There are a lot of tough games to play against sides trying to stay in this division, or playing to get into the Europa League or the Champions League.
PEP GUARDIOLA, Man City manager, keeping his chin up despite expecting Liverpool to beat Leicester last night.
It must have come as a real surprise to him after a sluggish City conceded for the first time since Roberto Firmino netted on Jan 3. It was a series of 30 unanswered strikes before Salomon Rondon's and Matt Ritchie's spot kick on Tuesday.
Guardiola added: "We didn't make a good performance. We didn't take the rhythm of the game, it was slow and we weren't aggressive enough.
"The game was not good. We did not defend the second ball well, we have to improve."
Conceding "next week will be tough" - City have to play Arsenal, Everton and Chelsea in seven days - he challenged his side to rise to the occasion as there were "a lot of titles and points to play for".
The 48-year-old also attempted to put a spin on the upset and their tricky run of upcoming fixtures as they "were still in January", and so, there could be plenty more twists and turns in Liverpool's bid to end a 29-year wait to win the league.
He said: "There's a lot of time but of course, when you're behind the leaders, you don't want to drop points and every game is one less.
"A lead of seven points is a lot but we're not in April or May. There are a lot of tough games to play against sides trying to stay in this division, or playing to get into the Europa League or the Champions League.
"In our case, we will do our best to be there and not to give up."
With City's unremitting pressing and cutting interplay curiously absent against Rafa Benitez's men, it meant he also missed out on an outright record of achieving most wins in the league era by any manager in their first 100 games.
Instead, he will now share that landmark with his old rival and former Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho, who won 73 of his first 100 games with Chelsea.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
Football: Reds can be 'Invincibles' this season, says Unai
Pep Guardiola hopes UEFA Champions League pain 'spurs' on Manchester City Description: Pep Guardiola's side take on Spurs at the Etihad Stadium again on Saturday after VAR ruled out what would have been a stoppage-time winner for City and denied them a place in the last four.
Guardiola hopes Champions League pain spurs on Manchester
Luis Enrique dismissed suggestions Alvaro Morata is low on confidence after the Spain striker drew a blank in a 2-1 home win against Norway.. Spain got their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign up and
Spain get better of Sweden as Ireland labour against Gibraltar
Youngest local SPL Coach, 33, unfazed. Feb 9, 2019, 5:00 am. premium. Football: Age is just a number for Balestier Khalsa's Khidhir Khamis, youngest local coach in SPL at 33. Feb 8, 2019, 9:53 pm.
Marko Kraljevic, Analyst at Larrain Vial SA Corredora de
⠤⠤ Happy Playground - Croatia ⠤⠤ SOMETIMES I GO PRIVATE TO HELP FRIENDS. DURING THAT TIME I DON'T VISIT OTHER GARDENS!!!I'm low on gold so please remember I haven't forgotten you, I just can't return sprinkles as often as I would like.
Southampton's Jack Stephens bundled the ball into the net in added time, but Cardiff went back up the other end and substitute Zohore scuffed home a shot to give Cardiff only their second away win
Cardiff City beat Southampton 2-1 after a thrilling finish
Barcelona have one hand firmly on the La Liga title after winning 2-0 at Alaves on Tuesday, leaving them 12 points clear at the top of the table with four games to play. Should second place Atletico Madrid lose at Valencia on Wednesday or against Real Valladolid on Saturday, Barcelona will be champions before they face Levante that evening.
Pep Guardiola said his Manchester City team will be poised to pounce if Premier League leaders Liverpool falter, following a comfortable 3-0 win over Wolves on Monday that left City four points
Man City ready to pounce on any Liverpool slip-ups, says
NYTimes.com Site Map. For a comprehensive guide to our site, please see the Site Index.
07 May 2019 News Archive | Daily Mail Online | Daily Mail Online
Five things we learned from the Premier League this weekend Manchester City and Liverpool remain locked in a nerve-jangling battle for the Premier League title as the season approaches its
Premier League Weekend: five things we learned
Football: Qatar players cleared in eligibility row just before Asian Cup final against four-time champs Japan ABU DHABI (AFP) - Asia's football body dismissed a protest claiming that two Qatari players, including Asian Cup top scorer Almoez Ali, were ineligible to play just hours before the final on Friday (Feb 1).
Latest ASIAN CUP | The Straits Times
Players nabbed in Spain fixing probe The Straits Times - 2019-05-29 - SPORT - MADRID • Spanish police yesterday arrested several footballers, former players and club executives as part of a match-fixing investigation.
Players detained in Spanish football match-fixing swoop
0 comments:
Post a Comment