Pep Guardiola has ignored the taunts from rival fans, joking that they may be right to shout that he will be “sacked in the morning”.
That was the chant that echoed around Anfield as Manchester City suffered their sixth defeat in seven games. Liverpool’s 2-0 victory secured them an 11-point lead over the champions. who are now tied in fifth place. Guardiola was not prepared to endure the pain without fighting back, raising six fingers to the crowd, referring to the half-dozen Premier League titles he has won rather than the series of defeats that could prove catastrophic for his fight for the title. qualification.
The City manager has had to get used to attacks from visiting teams of late, even if there is little chance of him leaving 10 days after signing an extension to his contract at the Etihad Stadium.
“Every stadium wants to see me off. It all started in Brighton,” Guardiola told Sky Sports. “Maybe they are right with the results we have had. I didn’t expect that at Anfield. They didn’t do it with 1-0, but with 2-0. Maybe they should have called it in the past.
“I didn’t expect it from the Liverpool people, but it’s okay, it’s part of the game and I understand it perfectly. We’ve had incredible battles together. I have respect for them.”
The latest loss of City’s losing streak was perhaps the most damaging yet, especially since the two-goal margin of defeat favored a team that outshot 16-4, giving up more than three expected goals and generating just 0 .78. Behind Arsenal, Chelsea and Brighton, as well as the league leaders, a Rodri-less City look vulnerable in defense and unable to create chances like they used to add at the other end.
With Mateo Kovacic also absent, a duo of Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva were overwhelmed by Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, while their defense had no answers to directly handling the vision of Luis Diaz or Mohamed Salah.
“We didn’t have a preseason and then injuries, but we know it and we have to survive with that,” Guardiola acknowledged. “We compete but we don’t create many opportunities.
“We don’t have rhythm in the middle now and they are stronger in duels and we have to survive with the ball. We are not good at transitions of more than 30 or 40 meters compared to them. We had to adapt and we did it. I can’t forget what players I have.
“I am sitting here as a coach and defending what we have done in the past thanks to them and more than ever I want to be with them and hug them. We have to change the results and at the right time we will make the decision.”
Meanwhile, Liverpool manager Arne Slot finds himself nine points clear at the top of the Premier League, a lead that no team has yet squandered after reaching the 13-game mark. However, Slot insists that his rivals are capable of achieving a balance like the 11 wins, one draw and one loss that his team has accumulated since the beginning.
“I don’t think anyone, including me, would have predicted this. [start]” he said. “I knew Jurgen [Klopp] He left the team in a very good place. But still, winning so much with all the difficult teams we have already played is not something that can be predicted at the beginning of the season.
“But yesterday I saw Arsenal and today I saw Chelsea and I saw City. They will come back because these teams have a lot of quality. They could continue the same streak as us. So we have to stay alert and focused.”
