Pep Guardiola has warned his Manchester City side a failure to beat Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday will effectively mean their title challenge is “over”. Reigning champions City revived their bid to retain the Premier League trophy with a 3-1 win away to Southampton on Sunday that followed shock defeats by Crystal Palace and Leicester. Victory at St Mary’s, however, still left City seven points behind leaders Liverpool and for a while it seemed Guardiola’s side might drop more points on the south coast.
David Silva put City ahead after 10 minutes but they then squandered several chances and gifted Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg a 37th-minute equaliser.
But the uncertainty that crept into City’s play was ended by a James Ward-Prowse own goal and a Sergio Aguero header just before half-time that left City 3-1 up. Saints’ frustrations boiled over with a red card for Hojbjerg after a wild challenge on Fernandinho late in the game. “We knew it, that with the position of Liverpool, if we drop points then it is over, it (the title race is finished,” Guardiola said.
