Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is braced for another Premier League title race that could go down to the final day of the season.
The defending champions are playing catch up in a tight three-way battle with Liverpool and Arsenal.
They kept the pressure on with an impressive 4-1 rout of a depleted Aston Villa side on Wednesday as Phil Foden’s hat-trick highlighted a display closer to their devastating best.
City have been in similar positions before under Guardiola and been able to put together a long winning run to come out on top.
The Catalan remains adamant his side are only third favourites to lift the trophy, but he expects his players to keep up the fight as they seek a fourth straight title.
“If we win all our games it will go until the last day because they are not five, six, seven points in front,” he said.
“It will not be easy. The feeling I have is not easy. I see Liverpool and Arsenal playing, they don’t drop points, it will not be easy.
“But we have to do our job and don’t regret, ‘Oh, we should have won that game because they lost after’. We cannot do anything, we do not play against them any more so we don’t control what Liverpool and Arsenal do. All we can do is win our games.”
Even with Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland only among the substitutes as next week’s Champions League trip to Real Madrid looms, City turned in a dominant performance.
Although Jhon Duran cancelled out Rodri’s opener on Wednesday, Guardiola’s side had 25 efforts at goal compared to eight for Villa, with Julian Alvarez a regular threat and substitute Sergio Gomez hitting the post in stoppage time.
But when asked if it was a sign that City were hitting their stride just in time, Guardiola pointedly referenced some of the criticism directed at his side following Sunday’s 0-0 draw with Arsenal.
He said: “We were out of the title race three or four days ago and not playing good, the team was not playing like we did the last six seasons. Now we are in the best form in the league? Come on, guys…
“We’ve won a lot of the last games. I cannot say in the game against Arsenal I didn’t recognise my team. We were there all the time, we didn’t create chances because of the quality of defence and because we missed some presence in the box, but the rest, I recognise completely my team.
“That’s why we are calm. As I said, it’s tight, it’s not seven or eight points. It’s close. We have to wait. They have to lose points, otherwise it will not be possible, but again the team has been exceptional this season, exceptional.”
Wednesday’s result was a setback for Villa’s pursuit of a top-four finish, but one that came with a number of key players missing.
Ollie Watkins sat out injured while goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez pulled out with a stomach problem after being initially named in the team. In total, there were six changes to the side that started Saturday’s win over Wolves.
However, Emery indicated that both Martinez and Watkins could come into contention to face Brentford at the weekend, while John McGinn will return from suspension.
“We are without some players in some positions and it’s very important again to recover,” Emery said. “We will need these players, and this was also why we try to give some others minutes.”
Kimmich ready to open Bayern Munich talks amid Barcelona speculation
Joshua Kimmich is ready to open talks with Bayern Munich over his future at the club amid speculation linking him with Barcelona.
The Germany international has spent nine years at the Allianz Arena, but he is due to become a free agent at the end of the 2024-25 campaign.
Barca have been repeatedly linked with Kimmich in recent transfer windows and are said to retain an interest ahead of next season.
Speaking to Spanish outlet AS, the midfielder talked up Barca - as well as fierce rivals Real Madrid - but fell short of saying he is open to a move.
"I want to talk to Bayern. When I do that, I won't go out and talk to the press about it," he said.
"I'm not thinking about this. I will speak to Bayern first. But of course, Barcelona and Real Madrid are amazing clubs with an amazing history."
Kimmich has played 37 times in all competitions this season for Bayern, whose last remaining hope of silverware is in the Champions League.
Bayern will face Real Madrid over two legs for a place in the final, with the first match in that double-header taking place in Bavaria on Tuesday.
Thomas Tuchel will depart the dethroned Bundesliga champions at the end of the season, with Ralf Rangnick the favourite to succeed him.
The managerial uncertainty is not helping with regards to the Kimmich rumours, but he insists that will not be a deciding factor on his future.
"It's not the most important thing right now," he said. "I know that when you sign a contract you don't sign it with the coach.
"You sign it with the club. For me, the most important thing is the club, not just the coach.
"But it's also important to know what the coach thinks about you and the team. Other people in the club can worry about choosing the coach."
Desailly calls on LaLiga to do more to protect Vinicius Junior
Marcel Desailly has called on LaLiga to do more to protect Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior and other players who have been targeted by racist abuse.
Vinicius broke down at a press conference earlier this month as he opened up about the abuse he has received from the stands while representing Madrid.
The Brazil international is not alone in that regard, with team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni another example, and World Cup winner Desailly wants more to be done.
"Vinicius has spoken out, but it's not about him - it's about LaLiga and the people who can take action," he told Stats Perform.
"We have the power to change things, but we are not doing enough. Samuel Eto'o had the same issue before.
"Vinicius is one of those who is suffering because the administrative people in charge are not willing to hit harder than they are."
Vinicius has been a key player for LaLiga champions-elect Madrid once again this season with 13 goals and five assists in 23 outings.
Desailly regards Vinicius, who scored the winning goal in the 2022 Champions League final, as one of the finest players of his generation.
"He's a very ambitious player," Desailly said. "I think he's improved a lot because he is now clinical in assisting and finishing.
"When you look at someone like Ousmane Dembele, his stats are not as good.
"Then you look at Jadon Sancho, Bukayo Saka, another who has improved - there is potential for each of those to get close to Vinicius."
Ancelotti: Real Madrid are never 'undervalued' in the Champions League
Real Madrid always feel respected by every team in the Champions League, so says coach Carlo Ancelotti.
Madrid overcame holders Manchester City on penalties in the quarter-finals to tee up a last-four clash with Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.
City dominated much of the second leg in Manchester, yet after a 4-4 draw on aggregate, it was Ancelotti's team who got over the line.
Fourteen-time European champions Madrid, who allowed Karim Benzema to leave for Saudi Arabia at the end of last season, were not fancied to get past City, but Ancelotti does not think his team have been undervalued in this year's competition.
"Madrid is never undervalued in this competition, because everyone knows what we can do," he said.
"We feel respect from everyone."
City's Bernardo Silva called Madrid a "strange" team, a comment that left Ancelotti nonplussed.
"I don't know. We are not strange," he added.
"I think the weight of the shirt weighs in this competition, like history, but I have nothing to answer Bernardo Silva with.
"He is a fantastic player. Last year [City] had a good time and this year we had a good time. That's football."
When it was put to him that Madrid go into this tie as favourites, Ancelotti replied: "It does not worry me. We have confidence to stand up to a team that has not had a great Bundesliga season, but has knocked out Arsenal.
"It comes from eliminating a very strong team in Europe. In the Champions League, history counts a lot and that works in our favour."
Ancelotti has faced Thomas Tuchel nine times in his career, winning three of those games, losing four and drawing twice, and the Italian anticipates another stern test.
He said: "In terms of quality, they are strong in transition, they can play in different ways and are very dangerous. We are two who do not have a very clear identity. We can both play in different ways."
Tuesday's first leg also marks a return to Munich for Ancelotti, who coached Bayern between 2016 and 2017.
"It is very beautiful, a fantastic city, although unfortunately German has never entered my head," Ancelotti said.
"My son did, he learned very well. Munich is a spectacular city to live in."
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