Pep Guardiola has insisted that Manchester City have “no chance” of winning the Premier League title despite the “relief” of a long-awaited win against Leicester City on Sunday.
City snapped a five-game winless streak in all competitions with a nervy 2-0 victory at the King Power Stadium, where the relegation-threatened hosts had more possession and chances.
“It is not enjoyable right now, it is just relief,” Guardiola told Sky Sports after the game. “We have done incredible things for many years. It is not the best.”
While the result has lifted City back up to fifth in the Premier League, they were still 11 points behind leaders Liverpool before they kicked off against West Ham United later on Sunday and Guardiola has ruled out a fifth straight title for his team.
“We can not sustain for 90 minutes, today we proved that again,” the 53-year-old added to the BBC. “[We can] clear our minds now by getting results. We are far away from winning the Premier League. We accept there’s already no chance of that but we have other things to fight for. FA Cup, top four and winning games helps.”
Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Leicester remain 18th after the goals from Savinho and Erling Haaland in Guardiola’s 500th game in charge of City.
Though the Spanish boss admitted his team were outplayed, he was pleased with the “fight” of his players.
“They were better than us in the second half,” Guardiola said. “We can not sustain the aggression and pressing. We just can’t right now.
“This is just one game. The game against Manchester United hurt us a lot in terms of confidence. That game killed us. That game was mentally a struggle then tough games against Aston Villa and Everton.
“It is what it is, we have to hunt for wins and that’s life. Most of the players proved again they are ready to fight.”
City have a six-day break before they host West Ham in the new year.
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