LONDON, England: Pep Guardiola remains defiant in the face of Manchester City’s 1-1 draw at West Ham, which left them nine points behind leaders, Arsenal.
Despite City leading through Bernardo Silva’s first-half goal, Konstantinos Mavropanos’ header equalised for West Ham before the break. The result came hours after Arsenal secured a 2-0 win over Everton.
City, with a game in hand and set to host Arsenal in April, are not giving up the fight.
“It’s not over. Who said that? We didn’t lose. We will continue,” Guardiola emphasised.
While acknowledging the challenge of overcoming a nine-point deficit, he added, “When it is not possible, then we congratulate the champion, but we have to try.”
City are not in peak form, having drawn their last two league games and suffered a heavy 3-0 defeat at Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Guardiola, however, defended his team, stating, “We have an incredible team, spirit…we played much, much better…but we didn’t score enough goals when we had the quality.”
The lack of goals has been a consistent issue, with City struggling in front of goal despite creating chances.
“We didn’t score enough goals…we’ve been punished,” Guardiola admitted.
He also noted that Erling Haaland, who has scored just three goals in his last 12 league games, has not been at his best.
Guardiola is aware of the difficulty in catching Arsenal but remains hopeful, saying, “It’s so difficult but we have a game in hand, this game at home against Arsenal. There is hope. Always, you have to be there.”
Though he hasn’t been following Arsenal’s recent form closely, he remains optimistic about his team’s chances.
While acknowledging City’s inconsistency this season, Guardiola stressed the importance of finding the spark in the final third.
He reflected, “To win the Premier League, you need to be more consistent… This season, not scoring goals…we’ve been punished.” – AFP
