JAKARTA - Pep Guardiola insists that Manchester City has no chance of winning the Premier League title despite being relieved by the long-awaited victory.
The Citizens ended five winless matches in all competitions with a 2-0 win over Leicester City at the King Power Stadium, Sunday, December 29, 2024, WIB night.
"Right now it's not fun, it's just relief. We've been doing great things for years. It's not the best," Guardiola told Sky Sports after the game.
Although the result has lifted Manchester City back to fifth in the Premier League standings, they are still 11 points behind leaders Liverpool.
Because of that, Guardiola has ruled out the possibility of successive fifth league titles for his team.
Moreover, the victory has not shown that The Citizens have found a solution for poor performance so far.
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"We couldn't last 90 minutes, today we prove it again. We can calm the mind now by achieving results."
"We are far from winning the Premier League. We admit that there is no chance for that anymore," Guardiola told the BBC.
Goals from Savinho and Erling Haaland in Guardiola's 500th match as Manchester City coach brought revival.
Even so, the Spaniard admitted his team lost the game. However, he was quite happy with the struggle of his players.
"They were better in the second half. We couldn't defend aggression and pressure. We can't do it now."
"It's just one game. The match against Manchester United is very detrimental to us in terms of confidence."
"The game destroyed us. It was a mental struggle, then a difficult match against Aston Villa and Everton."
"That's how it is, we have to hunt for victory and that's life. Most of the players proved again that they were ready to fight," said Guardiola.
Apart from that, the 53-year-old coach did not want to raise the white flag for this season. There are still realistic targets to fight for.
"We have other things to fight for. The FA Cup, the top four of the league, and won the game," said Guardiola.
Manchester City had six days of rest before hosting West Ham at Etihad on January 4, 2025.
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