‘We are fragile defensively’: Pep Guardiola admits title hopes are fading

Pep Guardiola has conceded that defeat at Anfield next Sunday could end Manchester City’s hopes of retaining their title.

If Liverpool win at Southampton this Sunday they will pull eight points ahead of the champions, which will create the chance to lead City by 11 with victory at home a week later.

After Tottenham inflicted City’s fifth defeat in a row, the manager was asked if the deficit would be too much to claw back. “Yeah, because this Liverpool is winning, winning, winning,” said Guardiola.

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He was asked whether this would be terminal for their title defence. “I don’t know. But it’s not thinking about whether you’re going to win or lose [the championship]. We are not ready to think about what is going to happen at the end of the season.

“At the end [if] we don’t win [the title] it’s because we don’t deserve it – when we won in the past it was because we deserve it. What we have to do now is Feyenoord [on Tuesday]. That is the most important thing – first for the qualification for the Champions League – and step by step the players will be better.”

Two goals from James Maddison and one each from Pedro Porro and Brennan Johnson consigned City to a first home defeat in regulation time in 52 matches and the biggest at home since a 5-1 reverse to Arsenal in 2003.

Guardiola said: “In this moment we are fragile defensively. We started really well, as normal, but we could not score and then after that we conceded. After that we conceded some more which is difficult for our emotions right now.

“In eight years, we have never lived this kind of situation. Now we have to live it and break it by winning the next games, especially the next one. Now we see things in one way, maybe in a few weeks we see it differently.”

Guardiola described the team’s mood. “For the way they played, they are angry but sometimes the opponent is good and sometimes you are not good enough in some departments,” he said. “I would say the mistake is to think too much about analysing what happened and the other mistake would be after eight years changing a lot. You have to [rely] on the simple things that we believe in completely, step by step the players will be back and we will get back to trying to win games. If at the end it doesn’t happen what can we do? More than ever, hopefully. Because I’m hugely optimistic in my life, hopefully they can follow me.”

Ange Postecoglou was delighted by his side’s response after losing at home to Ipswich in their previous match. “After a really disappointing game last game we got back to our core beliefs. Credit to the lads, they were outstanding,” Tottenham’s manager said. “We had to weather a storm and then grew into the game. I am so pleased for the players, trying to play the way we want to.”