Even after celebrating his 500th match in charge of Manchester City with a crucial win, Pep Guardiola stated that his team has “no chance” of securing a fifth consecutive Premier League title.
Guardiola appeared visibly relieved as City snapped a five-match winless streak across all competitions with a 2-0 victory over Leicester on Sunday, marking only their second win in 14 games during what has been the most challenging period of the Spanish manager’s distinguished career.
Despite the win, City remains 14 points adrift of Liverpool, who dominated West Ham with a 5-0 victory and also have a game in hand. Following an unprecedented four consecutive Premier League titles, Guardiola has already dismissed his team's prospects before the new year.
“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,” Guardiola said.
Currently, securing a win is a significant challenge for City.
A team that once comfortably defeated relegation-threatened opponents like Leicester by three or four goals found itself under pressure for much of the match, despite Savinho’s goal in the 21st minute. The hosts squandered several opportunities to equalize before Erling Haaland scored City’s second goal in the 74th minute.
“Just relief, that is the word to express how all of us feel,” Guardiola said. “It was not the ideal performance but hopefully the victories will give our mood a better position. ... Hopefully in the new year we can bounce back a bit from a bad moment.”
For the first time in a while, Guardiola wore a genuine smile as he stepped onto the pitch after the final whistle, embracing his players and acknowledging the fans, bringing his total to 362 wins in 500 matches, along with 18 trophies.
“The players have given me a good present today, celebrating 500 games like this,” he said.