Even after completing his 500th game in charge of the Manchester City with a much needed victory, Pep Guardiola He is aware that his team “has no chance” of winning a fifth consecutive Premier League title.
Guardiola can breathe, finally sleep and eat better, after City ended a five-game winless streak in all competitions by beating Leicester 2-0 on Sunday, just a second win in 14 games after the worst stretch of results in the illustrious career of the Spanish coach.
The victory still left City 14 points behind Liverpool after the leaders defeated West Ham 5-0, and Arne Slot’s side also had a game in hand. So after winning four consecutive Premier League titles, Guardiola has already ruled out his team’s chances heading into January.
“We are very far from winning the Premier League. We accept that there is no longer a chance of that, but we have other things to fight for,” Guardiola said.
Winning a game is a battle for City these days.
A team that used to easily beat the likes of relegation-threatened Leicester by three or four goals found itself tied for much of the game despite Savinho’s 21st-minute opener, with the hosts missing several good chances to equalise. before Erling Haaland headed City’s second in the 74th.
“Just relief, that’s the word to express how we all feel,” Guardiola said. It wasn’t the ideal performance, but I hope the wins will put our morale on a better footing. “Hopefully in the new year we can recover a little from a bad time.”
For the first time in a long time, Guardiola had a genuine smile on his face as he walked onto the pitch after the final whistle to hug his players and applaud the fans after taking his tally to 362 wins in his 500 games, along with 18 trophies.
“The players have given me a good gift today, celebrating 500 games like this,” he said.
