Pep Guardiola believes that Manchester City are “not in the position” to consider winning the Premier League title again after their defeat to Tottenham on Sunday.
Harry Kane, who became Spurs’ all-time leading scorer, found the back of the net in the first half against defending champions City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Guardiola’s men were unable to find an all-important equaliser, despite Tottenham being reduced to 10 men late in the second half after Cristian Romero’s dismissal.
City’s 1-0 defeat left them five points behind league leaders Arsenal, who suffered a shock defeat to Premier League strugglers Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday.
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Arsenal also have a Premier League match in hand over City, while crosstown rivals Manchester United are only three points behind Guardiola’s side.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Guardiola was disappointed at City dropping vital points and believes his side can only focus on one match at a time going forward.
“We are not in the position to think about being champions, just the next game, Aston Villa, we will prepare well and play our game as best as possible,” he said.
The City boss added that he doesn’t have an answer for why his side have a poor record at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“Sooner or later, it is going to change, but it is strange we haven’t scored one goal, we have missed penalties in the past. To find an explanation is not easy," Guardiola said.
“We found the positions, made good balls to the channels, but missed the last action up front.”
He added: “Tottenham has a fantastic team and squad, and they punish you. They have a lot of quality up front and don’t need much with transitions, set pieces, give a lot of credit to them.”
City will now return to Premier League action on Sunday when they host Aston Villa at the Etihad, with kick-off slated for 4:30pm UK time.
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Topics: Pep Guardiola, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Premier League, England, Football
Adnan Riaz