April 04, (THEWILL) – Pep Guardiola has warned his Manchester City players to brace for another English Premier League title battle that could last until the final day of the season. The reigning champions have been chasing Arsenal and Liverpool in a thrilling three-horse race for the 2023/2024 crown after falling behind earlier in the campaign.
City closed the gap on Wednesday, with a 4-1 demolition of Aston Villa. Despite Phil Foden’s hat-trick nudging them level on points with second-placed Liverpool and just a point adrift of leaders Arsenal, Guardiola believes his side remain underdogs. “If we win all our games it will go until the last day because they are not five, six, seven points in front,” said the Spaniard.
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager brushed off suggestions City were peaking at the perfect time following criticism after Sunday’s 0-0 stalemate with Arsenal. “We were out of the title race three or four days ago and not playing good… Now we are in the best form in the league? Come on, guys,” scoffed Guardiola.
He went on to praise his players’ “exceptional” efforts this term but stressed the race remains tight, with Liverpool able to regain top spot by winning their game in hand against Sheffield United on Thursday. “It will not be easy. The feeling I have is not easy. I see Liverpool and Arsenal playing, they don’t drop points, it will not be easy.”
Guardiola remains optimistic of an unprecedented fourth straight EPL crown if City maintain their form, concluding: “We have to do our job and don’t regret, ‘Oh, we should have won that game because they lost after’. We don’t control what Liverpool and Arsenal do. All we can do is win our games.”
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
