Pep Guardiola makes tactical Liverpool assertion after Sunday’s title race twist
Pep Guardiola has made what seems to be a tactical assertion about Liverpool after the Reds moved top of the Premier League on Sunday.
Our 2-1 win against Brighton, coupled with Manchester City and Arsenal finishing goalless, has put us two points ahead of the Gunners and three clear of the reigning champions with nine matches each to play.
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When asked if LFC are now title favourites following his team’s draw yesterday, the Spaniard replied (via The Guardian): “Yes. Always who is first is favourites, second is Arsenal and we are third.
“It’s not in our hands. All we can do is think of Aston Villa [on Wednesday]. If you are top of the league – like we’ve been before – you are favourites.”
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Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool fans will read this as a classic mind games ploy from Guardiola, whose clear message to the Reds is that the pressure is on us not to blow our current advantageous position.
The title race is in LFC’s hands after yesterday’s twists, although we remain within arm’s reach of both Arsenal and City. Also, with a quarter of the campaign still to be played, there’s a lot of scope for the picture to change drastically.
At least we have the comfort of knowing that our rivals need us to slip up and that, so long as we take care of our business, we won’t be caught. It’s a welcome contrast to the 2019 and 2022 title pursuits, when Guardiola’s side continually kept us at bay as both teams just kept on winning.
City overtook the Gunners on the home straight last year, so they certainly won’t panic about being three points behind Liverpool this far out from the season’s end.
Nonetheless, they won’t be too thrilled at the prospect of trying to catch up on Klopp’s Reds, who’ve gone the distance with them in the pursuit of Premier League glory on more than one occasion.
Game on!
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