Pep Guardiola feels his Manchester City side must be near-perfect between now and the end of the season in order to have any chance of beating Arsenal to the Premier League crown.
Champions City trail the Gunners by eight points at the top of the Premier League, prior to playing their game in hand against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Thursday evening, live on Sky Sports.
City had to settle for a point against struggling Everton in their last outing but Arsenal’s draw against Newcastle on Tuesday has offered a chance for them to cut the deficit.
Thursday 5th January 6:30pm
Kick off 8:00pm
Guardiola feels, however, his side have their work cut out to close the gap completely.
“The way they played against Newcastle again impressed me a lot,” he said. “They dropped two points but they didn’t drop the quality [with which] they played.
“We have to be almost perfect, I would say, from here to the end of the season and hope they drop a little bit in their performance.
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“But, at the same time, I see the way we played the last games, and the feeling is good.
“My target always as a manager is to try to be yourself and be better than the opponent, and after if you concede one shot and they score and we can’t score, you have to accept it and move forward.
“What I want to see is us still fight, don’t give up, not now, until the last chance, until the last drop of water we can fight to win the Premier League, and the moment we are not able to win the Premier League we have to be ready to compete next season. This is when teams are really good.”
After taking the crown in four of the past five seasons, and with their financial strength, Guardiola admits his side face certain pressures unbeknown to their peers.
He added: “The advantage of Arsenal and Manchester United right now is nobody has to win the Premier League for 20 points ahead in November like Manchester City has to – and this is sometimes a big problem.
“People say, ‘Ah, yes, you are…’ Yes, we are, but with Arsenal winning all their games and you are seven or eight points behind… it [Arsenal winning the title] can happen.”
Pep: Foden has nothing to prove
Phil Foden has only started one game for City since returning from the Qatar World Cup
Phil Foden has started just one of City’s last six Premier League games but Guardiola says this is simply down to the good form of other players, and nothing untoward on the midfielder’s part.
Asked what Foden needed to do to win back a place in the starting line-up, Guardiola said: “Nothing. I chose another. There’s not a special reason. The decision to play is exclusively mine and not because he is dropping something, absolutely not.”
Man City’s next five fixtures
Wednesday 11th January 7:30pm
Kick off 8:00pm
Jan 5: Chelsea vs Man City, kick-off 8pm, live on Sky Sports
Jan 8: Man City vs Chelsea, kick-off 4.30pm, FA Cup
Jan 11: Southampton vs Man City, kick-off 8pm, Carabao Cup, live on Sky Sports Football
Jan 14: Man United vs Man City, kick-off 12.30pm
Jan 19: Man City vs Spurs, kick-off 8pm, live on Sky Sports