Pep Guardiola praised the form of Liverpool after his Manchester City side beat Newcastle tonight.
It was a close game at St James’ Park, with Newcastle turning the game around before throwing it away in the second-half. 3-2 the final score.
The result is a blow to Liverpool, who had looked like being five points clear of City, having played the same amount of games. Instead, the Reds are now just two ahead of the champions.
Nevertheless, ahead Liverpool still are. It’s looking like one of those seasons again. And speaking after the game via the Manchester Evening News, Guardiola turned his sights to City’s visit to Anfield in March. A potential title-decider, perhaps?
“It’s really important [to win against Newcastle] because Liverpool are flying over the last month and we have to go to Anfield so it’s better to be close to them,” said the Spanish coach.
“This is what I want, waiting on Manu [Akanji], John [Stones] and Erling [Haaland] to come back as soon as possible when the Champions League is coming and FA Cup is here to use everyone.”
Guardiola looks ahead to Anfield clash
At one point tonight it had looked genuinely likely that Newcastle would take points off City. That would have been terrific news for Liverpool.
But the Reds don’t need to panic. They’re still second favourites for this title, that’s for sure. But for now, they’re doing just fine.
As Guardiola mentions, that trip to Anfield is already looming large. Scheduled for March 9th, it’ll be matchday 28 of the Premier League season.
That means that there’ll still be a fair bit left to play once the final whistle has blown that day. But you can’t escape the feeling that it’s going to be huge.
Pep Guardiola
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
For it to be as big as it feels, Liverpool have to hang in until then. If they can go into that day being one or two points either way of City, they should be confident.
Despite all their dominance of recent seasons, the Citizens – and Pep himself – have a poor record at Anfield.
Even last season, with Liverpool struggling and City eventual treble winners, the Reds beat them 1-0. Guardiola’s only win in eight attempts is a behind-closed-doors win during the Covid-effected 2020/21 season.
As a result, you can only imagine the importance the obsessive Pep is placing on that game. Liverpool need to first make sure that it has real significance to the table and second, beat them. Just beat them. It’s still all to play for.
