Pep Guardiola does not expect Man City to stay perfect in the Premier League title race – despite claiming what he described as a “massive” win over Newcastle that moves them two points behind leaders Arsenal.
City produced a gritty 2-1 win on Saturday to apply the pressure on Arsenal after they threw away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at bottom-placed Wolves in midweek.
If Mikel Arteta’s side drop points at Tottenham Hotspur in the north London derby on Sunday, live on Sky Sports, City can go top by winning their game in hand.
Nico O’Reilly’s first Premier League brace was enough to seal the points against Newcastle but City had to dig in to hold on to their lead and the performance sparked big celebrations from Guardiola at full-time.
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Asked about his reaction to the win, the City boss told TNT Sports: “Massive. Newcastle is an incredible team. Awesome team. Physicality in the midfield and the speed they have up front.
“Really tough but the team was unbelievable.”
Arsenal still have to go to the Etihad in April and City have won 16 of their last 19 home games in the league.
Guardiola has form for overtaking Arsenal in the title race late in the season. City won their final nine games of the 2023/24 season to lift the Premier League for a record fourth consecutive year.
Asked if he feels equipped as ever for the run-in, Guardiola added: “Seventy per cent of the players never played in that situation and I don’t play. We have to believe it.
“They know – we know – that until the end of the season every game will be like this.
“Today we had the best crowd of the year. It was unbelievable. I am really proud to be manager of these incredible fans.”
Man City players celebrate after holding on to beat Newcastle
Guardiola is expecting there to be blips along the way for his new-look City side, who are also still competing in the Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup, despite winning their last five in a row.
“Many things are going to happen,” Guardiola said of the title race in his press conference. “I have a feeling that we are not going to win all our games. Arsenal, I don’t know.
“But I have this feeling, because FA Cup, Champions League games, then comes trouble. Many, many games. Injuries will come.
“The best way is to relax now and focus on Leeds, then we’ll see. It will depend on our level, it needs to be better, better, better.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: skynews.com
