Pep Guardiola sends warning to Man City over Arsenal title battle: ‘We will not win’ | Football
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Pep Guardiola expressed doubts about Manchester City’s ability to close the gap on Arsenal in the Premier League title race. Following Arsenal’s 3-0 victory over Sunderland, City secured a comeback win against Liverpool, cutting the deficit to six points. Guardiola warned that without addressing their inconsistent second-half performances, future victories would be challenging.
Pep Guardiola has warned that Manchester City must improve their second-half performances to maintain pressure in the Premier League title race, following their comeback victory over Liverpool on Sunday. The match saw City reduce the gap to league leaders Arsenal to six points, but Guardiola stressed that a sustained challenge will be impossible without addressing their problematic second halves.
Guardiola’s comments come after City have dropped 11 points since the start of the year due to inconsistent second-half performances. The team has often struggled after the break, scoring fewer goals and failing to convert chances, notably in their earlier encounter with Tottenham.
City will aim to close the gap to three points if they defeat Fulham on Wednesday night, with Arsenal set to play Brentford the following day. Despite the slight resurgence, Guardiola cautioned that without improvement, City “will not win” against Fulham or future opponents. He stated, “If we don’t improve that, we will not win – maybe if not against Fulham, against Newcastle or the next [game].”
Guardiola acknowledged the changes in the squad since past successful seasons, noting that the current team features “60 or 70 per cent of new players”. He expressed uncertainty about their ability to replicate previous runs of form, saying, “I don’t know if we are able to win three, four, five, six games in a row. I don’t know.”