Pep Guardiola insists Manchester City have “no chance” of winning the Premier League title despite being “relieved” by their long-awaited win over Leicester City on Sunday.
City broke their five-game winless streak in all competitions with a tense 2-0 win at the King Power Stadium, where the relegation-threatened home side had more possession and more chances.
“I’m not happy right now, it’s just a relief,” Guardiola told Sky Sports after the game. “We’ve done amazing things over the years. It’s not the best.”
The result moved City back up to fifth in the Premier League, but they were still 11 points behind leaders Liverpool before their game against West Ham United late on Sunday and Guardiola has ruled out a fifth successive title for his side.
The 53-year-old added to the BBC: “We can’t last 90 minutes. Today we proved that again.” “(We) can now clear our minds by getting a result. We are far away from winning the Premier League. We already admit it is unlikely, but we have to fight for other things: the FA Cup, the top four, winning a game. This is helpful.
Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Leicester remain 18th in the table behind goals from Sabinho and Erling Haaland in Guardiola’s 500th game in charge of City.
The Spanish coach admitted his side were outmatched but was pleased with his players’ “fight”.
“They were better than us in the second half,” Guardiola said. “We can’t sustain the aggression and pressure, we can’t do that right now.
“This is only one game. The game against Manchester United hurt us a lot in terms of confidence. That game killed us. That game was mentally tougher than the tough games against Aston Villa and Everton. It was.”
“Yes, we must pursue victory and that is life. Most of the players have proven once again that they are ready to fight.”
City have a six-day break ahead of their game against West Ham in the New Year.
