The City boss was proud of how his side played in a Premier League headliner that lived up to the hype.
Sometimes, the games billed as biggest in the Premier League fail to live up to the hype and expectation, top sides playing out affairs that are more tense and cagey than thrilling. That’s rarely been the case with Liverpool and Manchester City.
On Sunday, the two sides met again. And once again, along with the tension of a potential title-decider between England’s two best sides, it was a thrilling football match, something that both Jürgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola talked about.
“I felt we let them have a life from here but Liverpool are a joy to watch,” Guardiola said after the match. “I know how good they are and there is no doubt about that but I am so proud of my team. I said to the team, I don’t want one second sad.
“We know now that one game and a dropped result we will not be champions. Will it be easy? Absolutely not but it will be difficult for them, too. It didn’t matter what happened, win, lose, or draw this is not over. I would say the same with defeat or victory.”
Probably more difficult for Liverpool, though, at least on paper, with Klopp’s Reds looking to have the tougher league run over the final seven games. City, though, haven’t won all the games that on paper they probably should have this season.
Since the calendar turned to 2022, they’ve dropped points to Southampton and Crystal Palace and been defeated by a wildly inconsistent Tottenham. Liverpool’s only dropped points in that time have been to Chelsea and then Sunday’s draw with City.
The two sides also get to try to top Sunday when they face each other again in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday—and they could even square off one more time, in the Champions League final, as they’re on different sides of that bracket.
“Seven games in the Premier League is a lot,” Guardiola added. “They are tough games and they have tough games. I don’t know what will happen but against this team to perform the way they did I am proud. I wanted to win but it doesn’t matter. It was so good.”
