Pep Guardiola has said that Manchester City are in a fight for the Premier League title after their 3-2 home defeat against Tottenham on Saturday.
City’s first loss in 17 Premier League games leaves the champions on 63 points, six ahead of Liverpool, who have a match in hand and visit the Etihad Stadium on 9 April.
Guardiola was clear that City are now in a tussle with the Merseyside club, having led by 12 points earlier this month.
“We have to fight for every game and every game we are going to win we will be closer,” the City manager said. “I said weeks ago we have to make a lot of points to be champions and this is what we will try to do.
“I think we performed well – honestly. I never said the title race was over. It’s normal. In January and February the teams at the bottom won their games because everyone fights for everything. It will be difficult. We know it.
“But it’s happened. We lost a game. We will recover with training sessions and prepare for the next game.”
City were never ahead in the match, having to equalise strikes from Dejan Kulusevski and Harry Kane before the latter’s 95th‑minute winner. “They defended in the 18-yard box and it was so difficult,” Guardiola said.
“They allowed us to go outside and closed all the channels inside, and then after that they could run with their quality but they didn’t run much. It was difficult. Every time we played inside we had to then move outside and we arrived there and crossed. But for many reasons we were not there to score.
“The first goal came from the quality they have and the second is difficult to defend and the third was our mistake. We were close to drawing, and maybe winning, but congratulations to Spurs.”
The victory halted a run of three consecutive league defeats for Antonio Conte’s team. Eric Dier said: “This win is important if we take it in the right way. If we recognise that if we play with that intensity, with that commitment, that unity; if we play with that every game we can really push on from this.
“I think we have to take this win in the right way, not get carried away but recognise what we need to do as a team to get results and play well. We have to take it with humility and understand that as a team we can be very good.”
