Pep Guardiola has never had to win a title by coming from behind, so he was pleased that Liverpool missed the opportunity in their last game to extend their lead to seven points.
Five is a more bridgeable gap and Manchester City could make a big dent in it this week by virtue of playing a game more than their rivals. The only problem is that taking maximum points from three games in eight days is a tall order when one’s opponents are Arsenal, Everton and Chelsea.
“If you want to be a real contender, you have to win a lot of points and to do that you have to be focused on every game,” Guardiola said. “To an extent it doesn’t matter how many points behind Liverpool we are because if we don’t improve we are not going to catch them.
“I am more interested in the way we play than the points we pick up, and the players all know that we have to play better than we did at Newcastle.”
Around this time a year ago Guardiola was caught on camera telling his players they were the best team in the country, something he still believes. “I have not changed my mind, I still like this group, I love them and I trust them,” the City manager said.
“We are still a strong team and we are going to keep going. We have some catching up to do. I would prefer to be out in front like we were last season. That was exceptional but at this stage of the season everyone is dropping points.
“It’s tough when there are a lot of games but, if you look at the midweek results, Manchester United and Liverpool both drew and Chelsea lost.
“The situation we have is a challenge but we are only at the start of February. There are still a lot of points to play for and a lot of things that still might happen.
“The main thing is that we still have our motivation. We are in four different competitions and we will try to do our best in each one. We will keep trying to win the league and, if we don’t, we will shake the hand of the champion and try again next season.”
