Pep Guardiola makes honest Liverpool title admission ahead of Man City's Anfield trip

Pep Guardiola has conceded that Manchester City’s hopes of retaining the Premier League title will be all but over if they lose to Liverpool at Anfield next week.

City’s recent slump has seen them lose their last five games, and they will head to Merseyside eight points behind the leaders if Liverpool win at Southampton today (2pm).

Guardiola acknowledged that a defeat at Anfield would be a decisive blow in the title race, saying: “Yes. In terms of Liverpool winning, winning, winning it’s true. I don’t know what is going to happen, but the reality is here and we have to win games.

“We are a bit fragile right now, but we can’t run away. We have to face it. I would like to say there is just one reason for losing three Premier League games in a row. There are many details that we have to fix.”

City’s 4-0 defeat to Tottenham was their heaviest ever at the Etihad, with James Maddison scoring twice in the first half and Pedro Porro and Brennan Johnson adding to the rout.

This was also City’s worst home loss since a 5-1 defeat to Arsenal at Maine Road 21 years ago. Guardiola has faced a tough challenge as this marks the first time any of his teams have suffered five losses in a row.

The last time City witnessed such a downturn was under Stuart Pearce’s reign in spring 2006. And Tottenham’s Ange Postecoglou has now urged his squad to uphold the exceptional standard they set in their victory in the Manchester drizzle.

He said: “Today was about doubling down on our football principles. It’s a significant win. City have got an unbelievable record here at home.

“It isn’t something you can be blase about. We have reached these standards before – now it’s about not dropping. You don’t come to a place like this believing it is going to be as convincing as it was for us.”

“City test you in every footballing way possible. Defensively, working hard, being disciplined and playing football – and in all four areas we got to a strong level.

“We got back to our core beliefs as a team. We knew they would really come out because four defeats had all been away from home but we really grew into the game.”

Man-of-the-match Maddison also reflected on the significance of the match: “That’s a birthday I’ll look back on quite fondly.

“To come here to the champions and perform like that and get the result. You have to cherish these ones, they don’t come around often.”