After saving a draw against West Ham on Sunday, Pep Guardiola insisted that his players will ‘give their life’ to beat Liverpool to the Premier League championship.
Following Jarrod Bowen’s two-goal half-time advantage, City mounted a spirited second-half comeback to earn a draw thanks to a Jack Grealish deflected strike and a Vladimir Coufal own goal.
Riyad Mahrez wasted a great late penalty chance to give City all three points, a result that would have pushed Guardiola’s side one step closer to the Premier League title.
Instead, they are four points clear of second-placed Liverpool, who can close the deficit to one point with a win over Southampton on Tuesday. This will be before a dramatic final day of the season on Sunday.
‘Now there are no disputes about goal difference or whatever,’ Guardiola added.
‘Liverpool will be champions if we don’t win.’
‘I can tell you that our stadium will be sold out in a week. We will give them our entire lives for 95 minutes, and they will give us their entire lives.’
It is an amazing honor to have the opportunity to win one game with our home crowd and become champion. It’s something I’m looking forward to.
‘We’ll relax for a day or two, psychologically separate. We shall then practice for three or four days to prepare for the game against Aston Villa,’ says the coach.
‘You can’t have been here for the previous five years unless you have that (resilience),’ the Spaniard remarked.
‘They are motivated to succeed. It takes more than skill with the ball to win titles, especially in the Premier League.
‘It’s critical, but there are many other factors to consider in order to succeed.’