Man City boss Guardiola: We must wait until Liverpool bus arrives here

Posted Monday, March 14, 2022 by Tribalfootball.com

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola insists they cannot obsess about Liverpool hunting them down in the title race.

The Reds again moved within three points of the leaders by recording an eighth successive Premier League win with a 2-0 triumph at Brighton on Saturday.

City are at Crystal Palace - one of only two teams to beat them in the top flight this season - on Monday night before Liverpool travel to Arsenal on Wednesday.

Both teams then have one further Premier League match before they meet at the Etihad on Sunday, April 10.

"We have to win our games," said the City boss. "I would love to be involved in the games of our contenders, but I cannot be involved.

"Just one time, when Liverpool take a bus and come here to play the game.

"The rest of the games we can't do anything. All we can do on Monday is win our game at Crystal Palace.

"Of course we've got an eye on what they (Liverpool) do. That's normal.

"I've said before when you arrive at the final stages of the season, every game is decisive. It's a final. There's not much time to recover.

"All clubs, not just Liverpool and ourselves, teams who are going for the Champions League, qualification for the Europa League, not being relegated, every game we play every team for many, many things.

"There are lots of battles, every game will be quite similar. It will be nice if we are there at the final stages fighting for that. What do we have to do? Win our game. It's the only thing we can hope for."

Guardiola, though, believes City - who have won the title three times in the previous four years - are well equipped to deal with the closing weeks of the season.

"I have a feeling, how we behave in difficult situations, this season, how we make steps forward," he said.

"In most of the games we were exceptionally important in decisive games. Just continue to do it."