Pep Guardiola may have been a rival of Liverpool’s during his time as Man City manager, but he has become an ally ahead of their Premier League title win.
For many years, the Reds battled with Guardiola’s City team for major trophies during an unforgettable period under Jurgen Klopp.
But City have fallen away this season and Liverpool have taken full advantage, potentially being crowned champions on Wednesday, if Arsenal lose at home to Crystal Palace.
Speaking to Sky Sports after his side’s late 2-1 win at home to Aston Villa on Tuesday, Guardiola shot down any notion that the Reds are winning the title because it’s a ‘weak’ season.
“We are not used to it. The last-minute win belongs to Liverpool,” Guardiola said.
[…]
“The team fought a lot, the performance was really good. It is a fantastic team. The season has been bad. It doesn’t matter about the final or if we finish in the Champions League.
“What makes you feel good is the Premier League. It happened, and sometimes you have bad seasons.
“Liverpool will be champions and the level of teams is outstanding.”
Premier League is tougher than ever
It’s refreshing that Guardiola realises how strong the standard of the Premier League is, amid bitter claims from rival supporters this season.
Granted, City’s dropoff has been unexpected, while the likes of Man United and Tottenham are in the bottom half, but some of the so-called lesser teams have never been better.
Plus, United and Spurs could still meet in the Europa League final!
Newcastle and Villa are now formidable sides who are pushing for Champions League qualification, while Nottingham Forest have been a revelation, sitting third in the table.
The likes of Bournemouth, Fulham and Brighton are also impressive outfits who play good football, with trips to any of those teams tough.
Liverpool are about to potentially win the title with a month to spare, having only lost twice, with a points tally in the 90s more than possible.
If this current 79-point Reds side were thrown into last season’s title race, they would be three points clear of City (76) and five ahead of Arsenal (74).
Was that a ‘weak’ season, too?
We all know that any attempts to play down Liverpool’s success are a way of rivals dealing with the pain of it – they’re not kidding anyone!
