Pep Guardiola has said Manchester City could blow their 13-point lead over Manchester United and fail to be crowned champions.
Guardiola’s team are clear favourites to win a third Premier League title, with City and United each having only six matches left. Yet having seen his team lose their previous three games – away and home to Liverpool in the Champions League, and in the league to United – the manager cited the example of Real Madrid in 2003 04, when they led Valencia by a point but suffered six defeats in the final seven matches to finish fourth in La Liga, behind Rafael Benítez’s then side.
City are at Tottenham for Saturday’s late fixture. A victory, combined with a United defeat against West Brom on Sunday, would secure the title, but it was put to Guardiola that if City lose and United beat West Brom and Bournemouth before his side play again they may start to feel the pressure.In this scenario United would have cut the deficit to seven points having played a match more.
Guardiola said: “It can happen. Football is full of emotions, but what we have to try to do is focus and win our games against Tottenham, Swansea and after that the other ones. So we know that.
“I am not the most calm, because that is not the right word, but it’s the fact that since November or December [people say] we are already champions – when I saw the pundits and the people in November, they say it’s already done. The players have shown every day, in every game [since then] that it’s not done because if it was they wouldn’t play the way they play.
Pressure
“But in one week we lost three games. That happened. So we have to play tomorrow and after that we see the result from United. But it doesn’t depend on the United result, it’s in our hands, it’s up to us to win our games, and we are able to win [the] two games [needed]. We handled the pressure – the good, the bad situations – the whole season.”
Regarding how pressure is more intense when trying to seal the title, Guardiola said: “That will be good for our future, you have to handle that. You have to learn that because at the end if we were not able to do it and United win the league, all we can say is ‘congratulations’ to United, reflect on what we have done badly in the last month and move forward. But in football it can happen.”
Guardiola countered any notion that such a scenario is unlikely. “Of course it can happen, I assure you. Real Madrid, years ago, lost six games and didn’t win the league. So of course it can happen, no doubts about that.”
He also cited how the Cleveland Cavaliers overturned a 3-1 deficit in the 2016 NBA finals to record a 4-3 victory, the first time that had happened in basketball’s pre-eminent club competition.
“They know that [the players]. It’s not necessary to say it to them. Of course it can happen. In football, in sports. In the NBA finals one team recovered from 3-1 down. Cavaliers won against Golden State Warriors 4-3. They won three games in a row, so in sports it can always happen.
Good advantage
“But it’s in our hands, we don’t depend on anyone else, and that’s a good advantage. We have six games. We have to win two, or one and draw two games. If we lose we’re going to do it in a similar way to the way we played against United and Liverpool. I’m sorry, but we’re going to do it in that way, and after that we’ll see.
“When the opponent is good, we will congratulate our opponents on beating us, and after learn from that for the next game.”
While Guardiola admitted Sergio Agüero’s ability to play again this season is in the balance because of a knee problem, the Spaniard said the 32-year-old David Silva may appear less next year.
“Next season David maybe he will not play every game, that’s why the squad has to be big. David played more because he was absent for a while, due his [ill] son’s situation, that’s why he had maybe more energy in the legs [recently].”
