If there was ever a time when Pep Guardiola worried about Manchester City’s title defense it was in October and November, not now.
Back then, City’s stars were bemoaning a grueling campaign, concentration was waning after a long year and trips seemed longer than ever. Not now. Now City are in their element.
How often have they been found here? Fighting on all fronts with much more experience than their rivals in handling pressure.
“They like to apply pressure,” Guardiola said after City’s demolition of Luton.
‘They like it when you’re dead or alive. “That doesn’t mean we’re going to win the title, but I’m pretty sure we’ll be there until the end because I know them, I see their faces in the meetings, before the games and how they prepare.”
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is confident his team will be in the title race until the end
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With this victory over Luton, in which Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku, Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic scored, City ended the day as league leaders for the first time since November.
It was in December, after City lost to Aston Villa and then claimed a 2-1 win at Luton, that Guardiola spoke to his players about concentration and how, without it, this campaign could quickly fade away.
“You think: ‘This is a very, very long season’ and that’s the moment when you try to do it but you’re not fully focused,” the City manager said.
‘We talked about that. The rivals we have in Arsenal and Liverpool cannot draw many games. The biggest difference between Arsenal, Liverpool and us is that they won a lot of points in added time. All three teams have had incredible seasons.
“But they won a lot of points because of the talent they have thanks to this (late goals).
‘It’s a credit to them, not the other way around. But in those departments they are much better than us but we are still there.
City beat Luton on Saturday and are now back at the top of the table
‘What a privilege. I couldn’t change our position for any other team. What we have done this season, we lived for that. Play for something, not play for other things: the big trophies. And we are still there. Again, it’s so good.’
This is a big week for City, with a Champions League quarter-final second leg at home against Real Madrid on Wednesday, with the tie tied 3-3, before an FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea at Wembley on Saturday night.
The worry for City’s rivals is that they are peaking at just the right time. No one in the locker room has a hard time concentrating now.