EPL: Guardiola Predicts Title Race After Man City, Arsenal Defeats
Prince Jean
Monday, November 4, 2024
Pep Guardiola reflects on Premier League title race, suggests lower points total may secure championship this season after City’s defeat to Bournemouth.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has suggested that this season's Premier League title could be won with a lower points total than in previous years. His comments followed City’s unexpected 2-1 loss to Bournemouth, ending their unbeaten start to the 2024/2025 season. The result places City in second position, two points behind Liverpool, with Arsenal a further five points behind.
City, who are pursuing a fifth consecutive title, have surpassed the 90-point mark four times under Guardiola. However, he now thinks that such a high total might not be required this season due to the demanding schedule on players.
When asked if the title-winning points could be lower this year, Guardiola said,
“Of course, absolutely. If we’d had five more days to prepare and recover for Bournemouth, maybe we would have performed better. Or maybe not, who knows?”
He also noted that his concerns about the busy schedule were not a reaction to the loss, stating,
“I talked about the calendar for the season when we were winning, not just now because we lost a game. The reality is they won; we congratulate them.”
