Pep Guardiola has ordered his Manchester City players not to obsess about Liverpool.
The Premier League champions reduced the gap on Jurgen Klopp’s leaders to four points with a 3-0 win against Wolves on Monday night.
But Guardiola fears his side run the risk of losing focus in their bid to retain the title if they fixate on their rivals.
“I said to them, ‘Don’t watch the calendar for the Liverpool games. Forget about it.’
’Then you lose your own games. Then it’s over. The best way is to look at the next game - Huddersfield, new manager.
“If Liverpool win (the title) then I will congratulate Jurgen because it will be well deserved. All we can do is win our games.”
Liverpool’s 1-0 win against Brighton on Sunday piled the pressure back on City ahead of their clash with Wolves at the Etihad.
But Guardiola’s side produced an emphatic statement about their own title credentials after two goals from Gabriel Jesus and own goal from Conor Coady saw off the visitors, who had Willy Boly sent off in the first half.
“You saw the incredible result they had, that’s why I’m pleased with the game today,” said Guardiola. “We cannot play the games against them (Liverpool), we cannot do anything about them.
"All we can do is win our games. We’ve spoken to our players. We cannot control what they do. We have to wait and if they fail we’ll be there.
“If they don’t lose they’ll be champions. We’ve done incredible numbers after last season, the number to be champion is no problem - but one team has done better.
“All we can do is be there until the end and the results will dictate who will win.”
