Chronicle Editor
Cape Town — Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola insists there is no chance they will be able to catch runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool.
The City boss continues to be quizzed about their chances of catching Liverpool at the top of the table, and the Spanish tactician continues to dismiss their chances.
Liverpool pass every test that is put in front of them. The latest being a tricky trip to Tottenham, which they came through with a 1-0 victory.
City will continue to fight right to the very end and showed their class with the 6-1 demolition of Aston Villa at Villa Park on Sunday afternoon.
The victory moved them above Leicester into second, but they are still 14 points behind Liverpool in their quest for a third straight title – something Guardiola accepts looks unlikely.
The former Barcelona boss has hailed the club for winning the title for the last two seasons but has already passed the baton to the Reds for this season.
“Forget about it, we would have liked to fight against them, but we could not, for many reasons,” Guardiola said when asked if Liverpool can be caught.
“Everyone made their incredible contribution and now finally after a long time we are second in the table and close to qualifying for the Champions League next season.”
Guardiola insists Sergio Aguero will “die scoring goals” after his record-breaking hat-trick demolished Villa.
The Argentina international’s treble made him the Premier League’s record overseas scorer with 177 goals.
He moved ahead of Frenchman Thierry Henry and drew level with Frank Lampard in fourth spot in the all-time stakes.
Riyad Mahrez grabbed a first-half brace with Gabriel Jesus also netting after Aguero’s first to make it 4-0 at the interval.
City were relentless with Aguero — who now has 249 goals for the club in all competitions —wrapping up his treble in the second half to set a new Premier League record of 12 hat-tricks, passing Alan Shearer’s mark.
Meanwhile, Liverpool defender Andrew Robertson believes the Reds’ incredible run in the Premier League this season is down to the sacrifices the players make off the field.
The Reds are 14 points clear at the top of the table after Roberto Firmino’s first half-strike secured a 1-0 win at Tottenham, extending their unbeaten record to 38 league games.
In amassing an astonishing 61 points from a possible 63 over the first 21 matches of the campaign, Liverpool have now made the best ever start to a season in any of Europe’s top five leagues.
Their ability to outlast and swarm opposition teams has been a key factor in their success and Robertson believes it is no fluke.
“All the lads in there are no different,” he said. “As footballers, you invest everything, you invest your life into football.
“It’s a short career and nobody likes being in the treatment room, not being fit to play the game.
“For me, I put everything into it to ensure I can play the game or be available. That’s what I’ve always done.
“Lifestyle, I always eat well and watch what I eat. I don’t drink during the season but don’t get me wrong, offseason, I have a couple of weeks. I am Scottish after all.
“During the season I try not to and that’s important because you need to invest in your body.
“It’s the most important thing. The team behind the team at Melwood (Liverpool’s training ground) every day, they make sure our bodies are ready and we’re as fit as we can possibly be.”
On whether his team-mates also avoid alcohol, he replied: “I couldn’t tell you. I’m not round their houses, but I imagine so.
“The higher it goes, the tougher it gets because of the amount of games you’ve got.
“We all try to invest everything in it and that’s why you see during those tough, busy times over Christmas we do look fresh because recovery is spot on.”
Results
Sunday: Aston Villa 1-6 Manchester City, AFC Bournemouth 0-3 Watford.
Saturday: Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Liverpool, Chelsea 3-0 Burnley, Everton 1-0 Brighton & Hove Albion,Leicester City 1-2 Southampton, Manchester United 4-0 Norwich City, Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-1 Newcastle United, Crystal Palace 1-1 Arsenal.
Friday: Sheffield United 1-0 West Ham United.
English Premiership table
P W L D Pts
1 Liverpool 21 20 0 1 61
2 Manchester City 22 15 5 2 47
3 Leicester City 22 14 5 3 45
4 Chelsea 22 12 7 3 39
5 Manchester United 22 9 6 7 34
6 Sheffield United 22 8 6 8 32
7 Wolves 22 7 5 10 31
8 Tottenham Hotspur 22 8 8 6 30
9 Crystal Palace 22 7 7 8 29
10 Arsenal 22 6 6 10 28
11 Everton 22 8 10 4 28
12 Southampton 22 8 10 4 28
13 Newcastle United 22 7 10 5 26
14 Brighton & H/Albion 22 6 10 6 24
15 Burnley 22 7 12 3 24
16 West Ham United 21 6 11 4 22
17 Watford 22 5 10 7 22
18 Aston Villa 22 6 13 3 21
19 AFC Bournemouth 22 5 12 5 20
20 Norwich City 22 3 14 5 14
— AFP.
Online Reporter