Pep Guardiola’s Taunts at Liverpool Over Record Points Tally
Pep Guardiola, the Manchester City manager, has taken a jab at Premier League leaders Liverpool, highlighting their failure to match the record 100-point tally set by his team in the 2017-18 season.
Guardiola’s side have struggled this season, trailing Liverpool by a staggering 16 points in the league. Despite Liverpool’s dominant performance, Guardiola believes they cannot surpass the remarkable feat achieved by his Manchester City team.
“We took all the records in England. Who would do 100 points now in modern football? I’m waiting,” Guardiola told reporters on Friday.
The City boss also questioned whether Liverpool could replicate their team’s four consecutive league titles, given the increased competition from teams like Bournemouth, Fulham, and Wolves.
“Or four in a row? I’m waiting – with clubs like Bournemouth, Fulham and Wolves that you have to play. The standards, we dictated. Have you seen Liverpool this season? They cannot do 100 points already – 99 but not 100.”
Guardiola acknowledged that the Premier League has become more competitive, with teams better prepared and more organized than in previous seasons. He believes this is the primary reason for Manchester City’s struggles this campaign.
“I asked ‘Gundo’ (Ilkay Gundogan) yesterday, ‘two years ago you were here, you were one year in Barcelona and you come back here, did you see changes in the Premier League?’ He said massively, the difference was unbelievable. It’s the truth. The teams are much, much, much better in all departments. People prepare so well.”
Guardiola also pointed to the injury problems and fatigue experienced by his players as contributing factors to Manchester City’s poor performance this season.
“We cannot do it for the (injury) problems we’ve had. There are a lot of players, with the amount of minutes they have had, who are so tired, emotionally as well.”
Despite the setbacks, Guardiola acknowledges that his team deserves a difficult season and that their past success was not entirely normal.
“But guys, we deserve to have a bad season. We deserve not to be like we were. They are human beings, it can happen. We weren’t consistent and we haven’t had the players at their best. It’s the first time that me and many of the players have lived this position but we have to accept it (and recognise) what happened in the past was not normal.”
Guardiola believes the primary issue this season is that Manchester City are no longer making the most of their possession dominance, which was a hallmark of their previous successful campaigns.
“I accept when the opponents have the ball, I’m going to suffer. But now we are suffering when we have the ball. It never happened before and, (right) now, I cannot change it. We are suffering because we are human beings.”
As Manchester City prepare to host Newcastle, a top-four rival, Guardiola will be hoping his team can regain their form and challenge for the remaining trophies this season.
Call to Action: While Guardiola’s comments may have stirred up some controversy, it remains to be seen whether Liverpool can eclipse Manchester City’s record-breaking season. With the Premier League becoming increasingly competitive, the race for the title and top-four spots promises to be an exciting one. Stay tuned for the latest updates and analysis on the Premier League season.
