By Rosemary Ugiomoh
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has refused to throw in the towel in the Premier League title race despite suffering a frustrating 1-1 draw at West Ham on Saturday, which leaves his side nine points adrift of leaders Arsenal. The Citizens had taken the lead through Bernardo Silva’s first-half goal, but Konstantinos Mavropanos’ headed equalizer just before the interval denied City a vital win.
The draw came just hours after Arsenal secured a 2-0 victory over Everton, with the Gunners scoring twice in the final minutes to move nine points clear at the top of the table. Guardiola’s side, who are second-placed with a game in hand, will host Arsenal in April, but many pundits believe the title race is effectively over.
However, Guardiola remains defiant, insisting that City will continue to push for the title. “It’s not over,” he said. “Who said that? We didn’t lose. We will continue. Nine points are a lot against Arsenal, but it happened. We have the game at home, so we have to try until the end. When it is not possible, then we congratulate the champion, but we have to try.”
Guardiola’s comments come despite City’s poor recent form, with the team drawing their last two league games against relegation-threatened West Ham and Nottingham Forest. The Citizens were also exposed in a 3-0 defeat at Real Madrid in the Champions League last-16 first leg, but Guardiola insists that his team is still capable of turning things around.
“We have an incredible team, spirit,” he said. “We had an incredible amount of effort in Madrid. The last two games, we played much, much better. We are an incredible team. We play so good. The guys go and go until we can’t continue. But we didn’t score enough goals when we had the quality, and they punished us.”
Guardiola knows that catching Arsenal won’t be easy, but he’s clingning to the game in hand as a chance to turn the tide. “It’s so difficult, but we have a game in hand, this game at home against Arsenal,” he said. “I’m not saying it will be easy to beat them, but there is hope. Always, you have to be there.”
City’s struggles have been highlighted by Erling Haaland’s poor form, with the striker scoring just three times in his last 12 league games. Guardiola will hope his team can regroup and push for the title, with a busy schedule ahead, including the Champions League second leg against Real Madrid, the League Cup final against Arsenal, and the FA Cup quarter-final against Liverpool.
