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Rob DawsonCorrespondent
MANCHESTER, England — This season may always be remembered for Liverpool’s attempt to win it all, but Manchester City deserve better than being cast as a quadruple spoiler.
After Liverpool’s draw with Tottenham Hotspur and City’s 5-0 victory over Newcastle United this weekend, Pep Guardiola’s side need seven points from their last three matches to win the title for the fourth time in recent memory. five years. If they do – and with two weeks remaining in the season it’s still ‘if’ – it would be a feat only achieved previously in the Premier League era by Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United. If it were to happen, it’s an achievement worthy of more than an asterisk at the end of Liverpool’s history quest.
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Jurgen Klopp’s side have already made sure that he will play in every game available to them this season, impressive in itself, and could yet end the campaign with Carabao Cup, FA Cup and Champions League trophies. However, if City can get over the line in the Premier League, they will confirm themselves as the dominant force in English football. Not even Liverpool can match his level of consistent success, and then, Guardiola couldn’t resist a dig in the direction of Merseyside.
“Everyone in this country supports Liverpool, the media and everyone,” the City manager said. “Of course, because Liverpool have an incredible history in European competition, not in the Premier League, because they won one in 30 years, but it’s not a problem at all.
“The situation is what it is. We need to make nine points or maybe six at the moment, it depends on what happens in the next two games in terms of goal difference, but now Wednesday is the real final for us.”
“We are going to try to win there. Our destiny is in our hands and this is important. We have to look at ourselves. With one point or three points, nothing changes. We have to do it.”
It is a testament to how quickly football can change that a game against Newcastle that was meant to be a test of City’s mental toughness after their harrowing Champions League elimination to Real Madrid ended up being an opportunity to put a hand on the Premier League trophy. Guardiola spent his usual Friday press conference talking about the possible psychological scars left by the late capitulation at the Bernabéu, but it turned out that the best tonic was a Son Heung-Min goal at Anfield.
Tottenham’s 1-1 draw at Liverpool on Saturday night eased the pressure ahead of Newcastle’s visit to the Etihad, and a match that could have been awkward was negotiated with relative ease. The visitors probably should have taken the lead when Chris Wood was given a free header from six yards out, but it was the only scare during a comfortable afternoon. Raheem Sterling (2), Aymeric Laporte, Rodri and Phil Foden scored, and with three games to play, City are three points clear at the top.
Return flights from Madrid on Thursday morning were packed with supporters worried that the punishing Champions League experience could cause the title race to implode, but when Sterling scored after 19 minutes, the chants of “champions, champions” resounded throughout the stadium. Etihad. Building spirits shouldn’t be a problem ahead of the trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday.
Win at Molineux and West Ham United on Sunday and City would need a point from their last game against Aston Villa to be crowned champions again. Not bad for a team that was destined to fall apart.
“With what this team has done, do you have any doubts?” Guardiola asked. “It was the perfect afternoon. We’ve been doing this every three days for five years. If some people doubted us, it’s because they don’t know this team. It is one of the best groups I trained in my life.
“Three points, nine points at stake, four up on goal difference. Another final on Wednesday [against Wolves]. The margin between us and Liverpool is very narrow and there may be a goal difference. It was important that we win.
“Hopefully we can get to the Aston Villa game on the last day of the season with the fate of the Premier League in our hands. But before that we have some incredibly tough games. Let’s try.”
Guardiola says he may never get over Madrid’s disappointment. An inexplicable collapse in a Champions League semi-final is a difficult thing to overcome, but another Premier League triumph (possibly back-to-back titles for the second time in five years) is more than just consolation.
No one has ever come as close to quadruple as Liverpool are now, but don’t forget that City are also within easy reach of their own piece of history.
Reference-www.espn.com