Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says his side will continue battling for the Premier League title but will congratulate Arsenal if it becomes clear the race is beyond them.
City’s hopes of catching the league leaders suffered another setback after they were held to a 1-1 draw by West Ham United at the London Stadium.
The result meant the Sky Blues failed to close the gap on Arsenal, who had earlier strengthened their position at the top of the table with a late 2-0 victory against Everton.
Bernardo Silva had given City the advantage in the first half in east London, finishing well to put Guardiola’s team ahead. However, the visitors could not hold on to their lead as West Ham defender Konstantinos Mavropanos headed home an equaliser before the break.
The dropped points left City trailing Arsenal in the title race with the campaign entering its decisive stage. Although Guardiola’s team still have a game in hand and are due to host the Gunners in April, many observers believe the gap may already be too large to overcome with only eight league matches remaining.
Despite the growing doubts surrounding City’s title challenge, Guardiola insisted his team will keep fighting until the situation becomes mathematically impossible.
Guardiola insists City will keep fighting
Guardiola rejected suggestions that the title race is already settled, emphasising that his players remain determined to push until the final stages of the season.
“It’s not over. Who said that? We didn’t lose. We will continue,” he said.
City currently face a significant points deficit behind Arsenal, but Guardiola pointed out that the opportunity to face the leaders at home later in the season still gives them hope of narrowing the gap.
“Nine points is a lot against Arsenal but it happened. We have the game at home so we have to try until the end.
“When it is not possible then we congratulate the champion but we have to try.”
Historically, overturning such a margin at this stage of the campaign has proven extremely difficult. In fact, only one team in Premier League history has managed to win the title after being at least nine points behind the leaders having played 30 or more matches – and that side was Manchester City themselves during the 2013-14 season.
Even so, City’s recent performances have raised concerns about whether they can produce another dramatic comeback. They have drawn their last two league matches, first against Nottingham Forest and now against West Ham, both sides currently battling to avoid relegation.
The dropped points have added pressure during an already demanding period of the season for Guardiola’s squad.
Busy schedule adds pressure on City
City are navigating a challenging run of fixtures across multiple competitions, which has further complicated their push for silverware this season.
Earlier in the week, Guardiola’s side suffered a heavy 3-0 defeat against Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie. The loss in Spain exposed defensive weaknesses and left City facing a difficult task ahead of the return leg.
They will welcome the Spanish giants to Manchester next week for the second leg, hoping to overturn the deficit and keep their European ambitions alive.
The demanding schedule does not stop there. City are also preparing for a major domestic final against Arsenal in the League Cup, before turning their attention to an FA Cup quarter-final clash against Liverpool.
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Despite the mixed results and intense fixture list, Guardiola remains confident in the character and quality of his squad. He believes the players have continued to show strong determination, even during a period when results have not always reflected their performances.
“We have an incredible team, spirit. We had an incredible amount of effort in Madrid. The last two games, we played much, much better,” Guardiola said.
Guardiola added that his side created opportunities but were punished for not taking their chances.
“We are an incredible team. We play so good. The guys go and go until we can’t continue. But we didn’t score enough goals when we had the quality and they punished us.”
City will now look to rediscover their consistency as the season approaches its conclusion. With several crucial matches still to come, Guardiola’s team know that any further slip-ups could effectively end their hopes of retaining the Premier League title.
