“We were outsiders 10 years ago”- Pep Guardiola reveals why more people want Liverpool to win the Premier League instead of Manchester City
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Mind games used to be part and parcel of a Premier League title race. Alex Ferguson was the master in the EPL’s early years, famously getting inside the head of Kevin Keegan before edging some epic battles with Arsene Wenger. Then came Jose Mourinho, who also went head-to-head with Wenger.
But recent title races have been comparatively friendly battles. So it was somewhat refreshing to see Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola attempt to bring title race mind games back into fashion on Sunday.
Speaking after City had thrashed Newcastle United 5-0 at the Etihad Stadium, Guardiola tried to make his side look like the underdogs by claiming that “everyone in this country supports Liverpool, the media and everyone.”
Klopp and Guardiola’s sides look to be going to the last day to fight it out to be named champions of England, with just three games left of the season. It’s incredibly similar to the 2018/19 season when City eventually went on to win the title by just one point, although Liverpool did drop points on Saturday, drawing to Tottenham Hotspur, which didn’t impress Klopp.
If City does hold on, to what is now a three-point lead with a better goal difference, then it would be Guardiola’s second time winning back-to-back titles and his fourth in five years, with Klopp taking the only other one in 2020.
Guardiola reckons more fans want Liverpool to pip his side to the title as they have a greater history of winning championships. He also believes Man City have been the ‘outsiders in the last decade’ as they look to claim their eighth league title, fourth in 5 years, this weekend.
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“They are a team with more titles”- Pep Guardiola on Liverpool
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has attempted to clarify his previous comment about Liverpool having the support of “everyone” in England. Guardiola made the claim almost two weeks ago after his side had beaten Newcastle 5-0 to retain control in the extremely close Premier League title race.
The City boss seemed a little grumpy to say the least as he spoke to the media after that game in a post-match interview, which was perhaps a consequence of his side’s exit from the Champions League four days earlier in another magical Remontada by Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu.
Speaking to BBC Sport on Friday, Guardiola claimed that he simply meant that Liverpool has more fans because they have won many more trophies than City in the past.
The 51-year-old Spaniard said: “I’m sure my English isn’t good after 4, 5 years. I said by the time you arrive at the titles, the teams with more history have more supporters. It happens in Spain and Germany and Italy. We are outsiders in the last decade.
“At that moment, of course people don’t want Liverpool or us to win. Liverpool fans want to win, I’m not saying all the country are Liverpool fans but in general they are a team with more titles and supporters.”
Only if City draws 5-5 to Aston Villa and Liverpool wins against Wolves by 6-0, then can the Premier League be won by a playoff match, kind of like a “grand finale” to what has been yet another entertaining season of the English Premier League.
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Aryan Sharma
(95 Articles Published)