Premier League title race after battling Man City and Arsenal for most of the season.
Pep Guardiola has insisted that the Premier League has not become boring because of Manchester City’s dominance.
The Etihad Stadium side are on track to claim a fourth successive title – and six of the previous seven. A win against Tottenham Hotspur tonight will see them leapfrog Arsenal to top spot ahead of the final day of the season on Sunday.
Liverpool have been the only team to break City’s stranglehold when they won the league in 2019-20 as well as finishing narrow runners-up in two other campaigns. This term, the Reds were in a three-pronged battle to be crowned champions before their form dipped after March’s international break. Jurgen Klopp’s side dropped points against Manchester United, Crystal Palace, Everton and West Ham – missing several chances in all of the games.
The fact that Liverpool failed to take their opportunities with their ‘incredible attacking players’ has left Guardiola stunned.
Speaking ahead of the Tottenham game, the City boss said: “It’s not boring, it’s nice. Listen, in football, I saw Liverpool in the last weeks could not fight with Arsenal, but do you know the way they lost the chance to not fight until the end? I saw the game against Crystal Palace in the second half, the game against [Manchester] United, the chances they missed, it looks unbelievable! You cannot believe it!
“I saw, I asked (staff), ‘Give me all the chances from Liverpool that they missed’. But they missed it without the keeper, keeper, nothing, and they missed it! And for that reason, they are not fighting until the end. They are losers? No. They are failures? No. They are an incredible, same team that fights against us in these many, many years, like last season, because at the end it’s tell me how this incredible, attacking players that Liverpool has don’t score a goal.
“And for that reason, they didn’t win. It can happen! But the important is Liverpool, they are winners, because until the end they fought for four titles, being there… Playing against Atalanta, did you see yesterday Atalanta/Roma? The performance they have done, it’s unbelievable Atalanta. They can beat you.
“I remember years ago when I said, ‘Ah Borussia Dortmund, easy for Manchester City’. Borussia Dortmund, look. I would love to be in Borussia Dortmund’s position right now, and go to Wembley in a few weeks to play the (Champions League) final. It’s boring? It’s not, it’s so difficult.
“Because before, do you know what it was? It was the money. If that was the reason why… Man United should win all the titles, ALL of them. And the second… Chelsea., all the titles. And third… Arsenal, all the titles. Because they spent much money in the last five, six years than us. Net spend. They should be there, they are not there.
“For that reason, Girona should not be in the Champions League in Spain, and they’re in the Champions League. Or Leicester should not win the Premier League years ago. Now it’s boring? It’s not boring. It’s so difficult to be here again, and again, and now we want to take it.”
