Pep Guardiola hails two Liverpool stars who are ‘always difficult to control’ after Man City loss
Liverpool earned a 2-0 win over Man City to move 11 points above Arsenal in the Premier League title race.
Pep Guardiola hails two Liverpool stars who are ‘always difficult to control’ after Man City loss
Pep Guardiola took heart from Manchester City’s performance in their loss to Liverpool.
City have endured an uncharacteristically woeful season by their own standards, having been crowned Premier League champions for the past four years. But after a 2-0 defeat at the Etihad Stadium, the title is on track to head to Anfield.
The home side dominated possession but Liverpool defended stoically and were clinical in the final third. Mo Salah opened the scoring in the 13th minute – taking his tally to 30 in all competitions this term – before Dominik Szboszlai doubled the advantage eight minutes before half time.
‘Difficult to control’
Pep Guardiola hails two Liverpool stars who are ‘always difficult to control’ after Man City loss
Arne Slot’s side moved 11 points clear at the top of the table. But in a week that they crashed out of the Champions League, City stay fourth in the top flight. Guardiola saw aspects of his team’s performance that impressed but admitted that the link-up play between Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold – which would help yield Liverpool’s second goal – is hard to repel.
City boss Pep Guardiola said: “It’s just a game. The distance in the Premier League is a reality. If you analyse the game today it was really good. We lost so there’s nothing much to say but the way we played was really good. The first half was more open, in the second half they defended so deep. I don’t know how many times we arrived to the byline. For nine years, that has been the target of my teams. Now we try to make good high pressing and make long balls away as quick as possible but Alexander-Arnold is maybe one of the best midfielders in the world linking side to Salah. It’s always difficult to control.
“We didn’t drop much. We arrived so many times to the byline but in the next attack we struggled to create much. It’s not easy, when you have two or three players on Jeremy [Doku], Phil [Foden], Kevin [De Bruyne], Omar [Marmoush], you need the brilliance of players, one cross, one brilliance, we need the pass back from Rodri, sorry Nico that can make a shot. Both wingers were exceptional- Savinho and Jeremy and all the young players. Except Kevin and Nathan [Ake], we were such a young team that will be the future of this club. We behaved really good. it was a tight game. We just missed being more creative in the final third, knowing that it is not easy.”
Top-four battle.
City have a battle on their hands if they are to qualify for next season’s Champions League. They are fourth but just two points ahead of eighth-placed Aston Villa. On the battle ahead, Guardiola said: “It will not happen if we are not good enough. Not because of lack of passion or desire. We saw it against Newcastle and today. I don’t have any doubts about that. It’s so tight,
“Newcastle, Aston Villa and others. There are four or five teams fighting. It will not be easy, but it is what it is. We will try. If it happens it’s because we deserve it, if not it’s because we were not good enough. Simple.”
