Pep Guardiola is refusing to look beyond Manchester City’s visit to Crystal Palace despite Real Madrid looming as a Selhurst Park slip-up would leave their Premier League title hopes in tatters.

A win for City in Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off will move them level on points with leaders Liverpool, who head to Old Trafford for a clash with arch rivals Manchester United on Sunday afternoon.

Guardiola accepts a draw or defeat would all but end their aim of claiming a fourth-successive title so even the prospect of a trip to the Spanish capital on Tuesday evening will not divert his attention.

City are also defending their Champions League crown and take on Carlo Ancelotti’s side in the quarter-final first leg but Guardiola will only start thinking about the clash after facing Palace.

“Honestly, if we were 18 points in front of second in the Premier League, I would have two eyes on Madrid but it’s not the case,” Guardiola said.

“We’re third, not far away from the top of the Premier League, but if we drop points it will be almost impossible.

“We have to win that game and after that we will have more time, not for recovery, but to prepare. So I have not had much time to see Real Madrid.

“When we have been fighting for nine or 10 months for the Premier League title, why should I be distracted now from this important game against Palace, when the distance is so close?”

Guardiola is mulling over whether to restore Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne to his starting line-up in south London after benching the pair in the 4-1 midweek victory over Aston Villa.

City will be favourites to beat a side that have claimed just two points from their last 12 and sit 14th in the table but Palace hit back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at the Etihad Stadium in mid-December.

Guardiola, who could welcome back goalkeeper Ederson this weekend but will be continue to be without defenders Kyle Walker and Nathan Ake, is aware he cannot take the threat of the Eagles lightly if City are to remain in contention for a trophy he continues to prize above all others.

“I love it,” he said. “Of the domestic trophies, it is the most important. I’m not going to say the Champions League is not nice, of course it is.

“We have it and know how it feels in our soul and we are at peace, for the fact we’ve got it. But (the Premier League) is just the nicest because it’s more difficult, there are more games, every week, two or three games.

“The Champions League, of course, is important, but it depends on something you perhaps can’t control.

“Both are incredibly important, but the Premier League proves a lot. It shows the mentality of the teams, being there all the time for many, many years.

“From my education at home or whatever, every day you have to do the best – that means a lot to me personally.”

Phil Foden took his tally for the season to 14 goals with a hat-trick against top-four hopefuls Villa and Guardiola admitted he could be in the running for Premier League player of the season.

“He’s a contender like many others, many players play a good season,” Guardiola added. “He can be a contender for sure.”

Pep Guardiola is unsure about whether to restore Erling Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne to his Manchester City line-up at Crystal Palace on Saturday with Real Madrid looming next week.

The pair were unused substitutes in midweek as City stayed three points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool by brushing aside Aston Villa 4-1, with Phil Foden bagging a sensational hat-trick.

But as a visit to Palace at lunchtime on Saturday is followed by a mouthwatering trip to the Spanish capital to face Real on Tuesday in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final, this season’s leading goal-scorer Haaland and key playmaker De Bruyne might be kept on ice once again this weekend.

“I don’t know yet,” Guardiola said, when asked about the prospect of Haaland and De Bruyne returning to face Palace. “Playing at 12:30pm and playing two days ago, I have to think. There are so many games.

“We play less than two and a half days after our last game. Some players recover quicker than others. A long week is completely different but a short week, you have to talk with doctors, physios and staff.

“We are used to playing every three days over many months and months. For many, many years it has happened that way.

“We play 12:30pm, it’s perfect. More time to recover for the next game in Madrid. We then play on Saturday against Chelsea in the FA Cup afterwards, it’s not fair but we are going to do it.

“We take one game at a time and don’t give up. We are not new to European competitions so the players know how to handle it, not all the time but most of the time.”

City, who could welcome back goalkeeper Ederson at Selhurst Park but are still without defenders Kyle Walker and Nathan Ake, have dropped just six points in an unbeaten 13-match league run.

But with both Liverpool and Arsenal ahead of them, Guardiola reiterated that all City can do to keep alive hopes of a fourth successive league crown is win all of their eight remaining fixtures.

“I hope so but it doesn’t solve the problem if we don’t do our job,” Guardiola said after being asked about whether he expects their title rivals to drop points.

“If we were at the top of the league it would be in our hands, that’s not the case, so what we have to do is win our games. I hope it happens but we cannot control it.

“The quality of the opponent is why we have to keep going and at the end we will realise which team is there.”

Guardiola, who said he had “no opinion” on rumours of a luxury tax being imposed on Premier League clubs to help regulate on overspending, admitted he is wary of upcoming opponents Palace.

The Eagles have taken points in six of their last 12 meetings with City, winning in December 2018 and October 2021 along with four draws – most recently coming from 2-0 down in December with goals from Jean-Philippe Mateta and Michael Olise.

“They’ve always been tough,” he added. “I think (manager Oliver) Glasner is doing a really good job.

“The quality is there with (Eberechi) Eze, (Jordan) Ayew and Mateta. They have good structure, strong defensively with (Joachim) Andersen leading the back five, the physicality is always there. Selhurst Park is always difficult.”

Phil Foden’s stunning hat-trick against Aston Villa stirred up memories of a young Wayne Rooney as the Manchester City midfielder continues to impress this season.

The 23-year-old starred on Wednesday night, restoring City’s lead just before half-time with a free-kick and adding a second in the 62nd minute before completing his treble shortly after.

His performance drew comparisons with Rooney post-match, with TNT Sports host Laura Woods saying: “The third goal, especially. We were chatting about this a second ago, Rio (Ferdinand) was saying it was almost like your Wayne Rooney moment, that something doesn’t go right, you get angry, and you bang in a goal.”

Foden replied: “You know it’s funny you said that because as I was celebrating I was walking with Jackie (Grealish), he also said about the Wayne Rooney goal, said ‘that’s what it reminded me of’.”

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at how the two players compare.

Goals

Wednesday night’s discussion about the two players came following the similarity in the type of goal scored.

Foden’s third goal sparked the conversation as he secured his hat-trick in sensational style with a thumping top-corner finish just moments after losing the ball outside the box.

The comparison to Rooney’s goal against Newcastle in 2005 followed, where the forward smashed an incredible volley from outside the area into the top corner just moments are complaining to the referee about a foul that was not given.

Introduction to senior football

Both players had slightly different introductions to senior football, with Rooney quickly making a name for himself in the top flight.

The striker made his senior debut for Everton in 2002 aged 16 against Tottenham and scored his first Premier League goal for the Toffees in October that year with a long-range curling shot past England goalkeeper David Seaman which bounced in off the underside of the bar.

Rooney netted 17 goals in 77 appearances before moving to Manchester United in 2004, but compared to Rooney’s breakthrough, Foden has gradually eased into the senior team at Manchester City.

After impressing in City’s youth set-up and for England in the Under-17 World Cup, Foden was included in several matchday squads before making his senior bow as a substitute for City in their Champions League clash against Feyenoord in November 2017.

He earned his full debut in the competition the following month before making his Premier League bow against Tottenham 10 days later and Foden made five league appearances in total for the club in the 2017-18 season, gradually cementing his spot in the City line-up over the following seasons.

Style of play

Although Rooney was deployed as a striker for the most part, he was able to play across the forward line and used his pace well to score and create goals.

As well as being involved in wider positions, towards the end of his time with United Rooney dropped into midfield, especially under manager Louis van Gaal.

Foden displays a similar versatility and the left-footed midfielder can play out wide or in attacking midfield.

His best performances seem to come from a more central position, which is where he played against Villa and admitted post-match that he prefers playing in the middle.

Manager Pep Guardiola also believes playing centrally benefits Foden and said: “When Phil plays in a central position he has a sense for goals and he proved it again.”

Stats

After bagging his second hat-trick of the season, Foden now moves onto 21 goals in all competitions, a career best for him.

His first senior treble came in the Manchester derby last campaign where Foden and Erling Haaland both scored three times in City’s 6-3 hammering of their neighbours.

Foden now has three Premier League hat-tricks to his name at the age of 23 and only needs another four to draw level with Rooney, who scored seven in the league.

His total Premier League tally adds up to 49 goals, with 81 in his Manchester City career overall, but he still has plenty of catching up to do with Rooney, who scored 208 times in the top flight and bagged a club-record 253 for Manchester United.

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.”

Pep Guardiola said Phil Foden can “do whatever he wants” in football after watching him fire Manchester City to a 4-1 Premier League victory over Aston Villa with a brilliant hat-trick.

With Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne dropping to the bench, Foden moved into a central position and orchestrated the demolition of Villa with an outstanding display, playing a hand in Rodri’s opener and then taking the game away from the visitors after Jhon Duran had levelled.

Foden restored City’s lead with a free-kick in first-half stoppage time when he found the gap that Nicolo Zaniolo left in Villa’s wall, then won it with two excellent goals just after the hour, the last of them a shot into the top corner after he had lost the ball but quickly regained it.

His second hat-trick of the campaign moved Foden on to 21 goals for the season and kept the pressure on in the title race, with the champions one point behind new leaders Arsenal and level with Liverpool who host Sheffield United on Thursday.

“What can I say? Three goals,” Guardiola said. “He didn’t start well but I think the goal helped him a lot for the mood. When Phil plays in a central position he has a sense for goals and he proved it again.

“He can do whatever he wants. He’s a real top-class player. We know it. But he is still open-minded, he has to understand the game, he has to focus on things, sometimes he’s a bit distracted in exactly what you have to do offensively, defensively, but he has a natural talent – a gift – which is special.

“The work ethic is unbelievable and he has an incredible sense of goal. When he has the ball and he’s attacking the back line he is going to score, you had that feeling. It is not easy to find it and that’s why he’s so special when he’s playing these central positions.”

De Bruyne and Haaland got a breather with next week’s Champions League trip to Real Madrid looming, but without them City turned in one of their better performances of the season and a vast improvement on Sunday’s goalless draw against title rivals Arsenal.

“We were better,” Guardiola said. “It’s true we conceded a few transitions and we lost a few balls and when that happens it’s a lesson we have to learn for the next game but we had incredible energy, four-five players up front and it was really good. We created a lot of chances.”

Villa remain fourth but the defeat leaves them only two points above Tottenham, who have a game in hand.

Unai Emery was without the injured Ollie Watkins and then also lost goalkeeper Emi Martinez to a stomach problem after he had been named in the starting line-up. But the Spaniard chose to make several more changes to his side – six in total from Saturday’s win over Wolves.

“It’s clear we were motivated and excited to try to be competitive, trying to keep it consistent like we are in the Premier League, but of course we were playing against Manchester City,” Emery said.

“We were competing until the 60th minute and as well we were trying to build our team with some players who are not playing a lot, we are trying to give them chances to play.

“Even when we were losing 2-1 we had some chances to score with Douglas Luiz, but they were pushing us a lot, they showed us their potential and they deserved to win.

“We will play a lot of matches in the next weeks, starting on Saturday against Brentford, and it was important to try to be intelligent playing against Manchester City. Of course we wanted to win but with some players injured and some players suspended we wanted to get some practice with some players.”

Phil Foden scored a brilliant hat-trick as Manchester City kept the pressure on in the Premier League title race with a 4-1 win over Champions League-chasing Aston Villa.

A day after defending his star striker against criticism from Roy Keane, Pep Guardiola left Erling Haaland on the bench alongside Kevin De Bruyne, clearing the stage for Foden to grab the spotlight with an outstanding performance and his second hat-trick of the campaign.

After Jhon Duran cancelled out Rodri’s opener, the 23-year-old put City back in front with a free-kick late in the first half before two excellent strikes settled it just after the hour mark, taking Foden to 21 City goals for the season.

Pep Guardiola’s side remain third, a point behind leaders Arsenal and level with Liverpool – who host Sheffield United on Thursday – after their first win over a top-five side this term.

But while little has changed in the table, this was a far more fluid performance from the champions days after Arsenal ended their run of 57 consecutive home games with a goal.

The decision to leave out De Bruyne and Haaland was made with next week’s Champions League trip to Real Madrid looming, but neither have been at their best since coming back from injury in recent weeks.

Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku came in to play on the wings and Foden shifted inside, from where he would orchestrate City’s win.

Villa, already without the injured Ollie Watkins, had to replace goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez due to illness just before kick-off and stand-in Robin Olsen was soon picking the ball out of his net.

Foden fed Doku on the right and the Belgian cut it back for Rodri to sweep home his eighth goal of the season after 11 minutes.

City’s lead lasted only nine minutes before Villa drew level with an excellent counter-attack. Julian Alvarez lost the ball on the edge of the Villa box and the visitors swept forward before Duran played a quick one-two with Morgan Rogers and fired across Stefan Ortega’s goal into the far corner.

After Jack Grealish – booed constantly by his old fans in the Villa end – was booked for dissent when a free-kick went in Douglas Luiz’s favour, Olsen made a fine save with his right boot to deny Alvarez.

Luiz was living dangerously late in the first half. Already booked for bringing down Grealish on the edge of the area, he then fouled Foden in an almost identical spot in first-half stoppage time.

Darren England kept his cards in his pocket but Villa were punished anyway as Foden found a gap in the wall left by Nicolo Zaniolo to beat Olsen.

There was still time for Alvarez to go close twice before half-time, with Olsen tipping a close-range header over the crossbar, and the goalkeeper was busy again at the start of the second half, denying Bernardo Silva after Foden’s neat pass left him one-on-one.

Villa threatened on the break as Luiz drove forward and hit a shot that was tipped over by Ortega, who then denied Clement Lenglet from the resulting corner.

But Foden would soon settle the match. In the 62nd minute Rodri rode Moussa Diaby’s challenge and rolled the ball inside for Foden to beat Olsen with a first-time shot into the bottom right corner.

Lewis lashed a shot narrowly wide but the killer fourth goal arrived in the 69th minute. The chance appeared to have gone when Foden lost the ball on the edge of the Villa area, but Calum Chambers scuffed his clearance straight back to Foden, and he lashed a shot into the top right corner.

What the papers say

Jadon Sancho may yet make another appearance at Old Trafford, with the Manchester Evening News reporting Manchester United appointing Southampton’s Jason Wilcox as their director of football would clear the way for the return of the 24-year-old, who is currently on loan at Borussia Dortmund. The pair worked together at Manchester City’s academy.

The Daily Mail says Barcelona’s Mikayil Faye is on Manchester United’s wishlist for defensive reinforcements in the summer. As well as the Senegal international, 19, United are keen on Jarrad Branthwaite, 21, at Everton and 18-year-old Aaron Anselmino at Boca Juniors.

Barcelona are said to be eyeing a deal for Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Amorim as a replacement for the departing Xavi. According to The Independent, club bosses have considered themselves frontrunners for Amorim, but Xabi Alonso’s decision to remain at Bayer Leverkusen for one more season has opened a window for potential rivals for the 39-year-old’s signature.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Florian Wirtz: Xabi Alonso’s decision to stay at Bayer Leverkusen is set to frustrate Manchester City and Liverpool’s quest to sign the Germany midfielder, 20, reports HITC.

Archie Gray: Real Madrid and Bayern Munich have joined Premier League clubs in watching the Leeds United and England Under-21 midfielder, according to HITC.

Pep Guardiola labelled Erling Haaland the “best striker in the world” after the Manchester City frontman was likened to a League Two player by Roy Keane.

The former Manchester United captain made the observation in his role as a pundit for Sky Sports after Haaland drew a blank in City’s goalless draw against Premier League title rivals Arsenal on Sunday.

Keane concurred Haaland, top of the scoring charts after winning last season’s Golden Boot, is in a class of his own in front of goal but added his all-round game is “almost like a League Two player”.

Guardiola was unimpressed by the remarks, arguing Haaland was instrumental in City’s treble success last season before insisting any blame for not scoring against Arsenal should be shared by the team.

“I don’t agree with him, absolutely not,” Guardiola said. “He’s the best striker in the world and he helped us to win what we won last season. Erling is exceptional.

“The reason we don’t create chances is not because of Erling. The standards that Erling has are unbelievable and everyone expects other things.

“There are games where he could be better but I knew during the game against Arsenal that the reason why we were not creating chances was not because of Erling.

“We needed more presence in the box. If we had that Erling would have more space. It happens sometimes. If you want to score goals, bring a lot of players to the opponent keeper, it is as simple as that.”

Guardiola, whose side welcome top-four hopefuls Aston Villa on Wednesday evening, admitted he is routinely bemused by former players offering scathing views about contemporary footballers.

However, the Spaniard accepts that criticism comes with the territory of being a high-profile professional footballer.

“If you don’t want to accept that as a football player, you have to dedicate yourself to another job,” Guardiola said. “When you are a public figure, you have to accept it.

“That’s why when you are in contract talks, you have to ask for a lot of money to accept those moments.

“I’m surprised it comes from former players. With journalists I can understand because they have never been on the pitch but the former players is always a surprise (when they are critical).”

When asked if he could see himself becoming a pundit in the future, Guardiola added: “I don’t know what is going to happen but I am not the guy who is going to criticise my colleagues when I retire.”

Guardiola sarcastically quipped his “ego” was the driving factor behind a heated on-pitch exchange with Jack Grealish following the full-time whistle after the Arsenal match.

Grealish has had a reduced role this season, partly through injuries, but Guardiola believes the England midfielder could have an impact as the season reaches the business end.

“I have the feeling that he’s back – in mood and training and desire,” Guardiola added. “Now I’m pleased.

“I’ve only asked the players to be ready and be themselves, it doesn’t matter if they perform at the highest level or less. We need everyone with the title schedule.”

Pep Guardiola impishly suggested his “ego” was responsible for a confrontation with Jack Grealish following Manchester City’s goalless draw against Arsenal at the weekend.

City drawing a blank at home against one of their Premier League title rivals on Sunday left them a point behind Arsenal and three adrift of leaders Liverpool with nine games of the season left.

At the full-time whistle, Guardiola was filmed in an animated discussion in the middle of the pitch with Grealish, who was brought on just after the hour mark in a fruitless bid to break the deadlock.

While Guardiola patted Grealish on the head before walking away, the episode has drawn plenty of scrutiny, which the Spaniard playfully took aim at ahead of City’s clash with Aston Villa on Wednesday.

“I do it for the cameras, for my ego,” the City manager said. “I’m the famous person of the team, if it’s on camera then I can sleep because I have incredible satisfaction.

“I always try to criticise the players there and let them know how bad they are.

“When Erling (Haaland) scores three goals, the compliments have to be with me, not with them, that’s why I use the cameras to do it. My advice next time is; don’t film us and it will not be a problem.”

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss was more serious when addressing the title picture.

After labelling Liverpool as favourites to end City’s streak of three-successive league crowns on Sunday, Guardiola accepted his side were running out of opportunities to reel in and overhaul their rivals.

They overturned an eight-point deficit last season to pip Arsenal to the top-flight title – en route to an historic treble – but Guardiola insisted City’s experience would count for little in this run-in.

“It’s just winning games, that’s what we have to do,” he said. “We have not many chances to drop points but there are still nine games.

“Our experience is over, it doesn’t count. What counts is Aston Villa, before it was Arsenal. When we were able to win lots of games in a row, it’s not thinking how many we would be able to, I don’t know.

“The only thing is to now prepare well for Aston Villa.”

Villa were the last team to beat City in the reverse fixture in the midlands in early December and Unai Emery’s side are targeting a top-four finish.

Guardiola, who confirmed Nathan Ake would join fellow defender Kyle Walker and goalkeeper Ederson on the treatment table after going off injured against the Gunners, is not overlooking Villa’s threat.

“Aston Villa are playing to qualify for the Champions League and every team is playing for something, so the last games will be difficult to manage for all of us,” Guardiola, who could welcome back John Stones, added.

“It’s excellent, the way they play. Unai Emery has consistency in every season. Villa have been impressive. It’s not a surprise, the quality of him, his management and the quality of the team.

“They’re really good on set-pieces and in transition, with two incredibly fast players up front.

“The shape is really clear, they can be high pressing after defending really well, they have a strong backline and an exceptional goalkeeper. That’s why they are where they are, fighting to be up there.”

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola admitted the Premier League title race is “not in our hands” after a goalless draw against Arsenal on Sunday.

With just nine games left in the season, City sit one point behind Arsenal and three adrift of leaders Liverpool, who Guardiola conferred as favourites to end his side’s streak of three successive titles.

Here, the PA news agency looks at how the title race is shaping up.

What happened over the weekend?

Liverpool moved into pole position as they bid to give Jurgen Klopp the perfect send-off by coming from a goal behind to beat Brighton 2-1.

The Merseysiders were boosted a few hours later by a bore draw at the Etihad Stadium. Arsenal were at the summit prior to the latest round of fixtures but would have been the happier of the two teams after nullifying City’s attackers.

Guardiola said afterwards: “Always who is first is favourite. The second favourite is Arsenal and we are third.”

Was Guardiola correct?

Maybe, although that was far from him waving the white flag in their attempt at a historic fourth league title in a row – Huddersfield, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United have also had a hat-trick of successive crowns but no team has yet done a quadruple.

City will likely have to be close to perfect if they are to pip Liverpool and Arsenal but they have a history of being strong finishers.

At the same stage last season, City were five points adrift of Arsenal but managed to reel them in then overtake them.

Are there any differences between then and now?

Last season, City still had Arsenal to play and triumphed 4-1 at home before the Gunners fell away at the business end.

This time, City can win all nine remaining fixtures and still lose out because they have already played Liverpool and Arsenal twice.

Liverpool have been the biggest thorn in City’s side in the Guardiola era, relegating them to second spot in 2019-20, remarkably their only slip-up in six seasons.

So all Liverpool have to do is win their remaining games?

It would be a major surprise if it turned out simple as that – and that is not a slur on Liverpool’s ability to hold their nerve as they have proved their mettle time and again under Klopp.

But the pressure will continue to build and there are a few tricky fixtures, including visits to north-west rivals Manchester United on Sunday and Everton on April 24.

City next face Villa – the last side to beat them – on Wednesday while both Guardiola’s team and Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal still have to go to Tottenham between now and the end of the campaign.

All three teams are still in the hunt for European crowns, too – City and Arsenal in the Champions League and Liverpool in the Europa League – and this may be a distracting factor as well.

So there are still plenty of twists and turns to come, then?

In all likelihood, yes.

Liverpool have the edge but they have never had the threat of City breathing down their necks – the Reds were out of sight in 2020 when the crunch time came.

City have proved they enjoy being the hunters, even if they have not been firing on all cylinders recently, and Guardiola will surely not want Klopp to have the last laugh in their rivalry.

Arsenal cannot be discounted either and look a better team than the one that subsided last season, as evidenced by Sunday’s stalemate after a thrashing by City 12 months ago.

In short, a dramatic finale looms.

Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane compared Erling Haaland to a "League Two player" following Manchester City's draw with Arsenal.

City failed to score at home for the first time in 58 matches in all competitions, but it was Haaland's general play which failed to impress Keane.

The Norway international had four shots in total - the most of any player on the field - but none of those tested David Raya in the Arsenal goal.

"The level of his general play is so poor and not just today," Keane said on Sky Sports.

"I think laying his stuff off, headers, whatever it might be…. In terms of in front of goal, he's the best in the world.

"But his general play for such a player it is so poor. Not just today, he has to improve.

"He's almost like a League Two player, that's how I look at him. His general play has to improve and it will do over the next few years.

"Being a brilliant striker is fantastic, but he has to improve his all-round game."

City's stalemate with Arsenal marked the first time they had played out a 0-0 draw in the league since March 2022 against Crystal Palace.

Pep Guardiola's men have slipped to third place, three points behind leaders Liverpool after the Reds' 2-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion.

Haaland, who has 18 goals in 24 league games this term, will hope to get the nod when City return to action against Aston Villa on Wednesday.

Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji is puzzled as to how Arsenal got away with some “clear yellow cards” during Sunday’s foul-filled scoreless draw.

After seeing Liverpool move top with a comeback win against Brighton, the other title contenders played out a forgettable 0-0 draw featuring just three shots on target at the Etihad Stadium.

Arsenal seemed happier with the point than City, whose frustration was palpable as the visitors avoided booking for the 20 fouls against them by referee Anthony Taylor.

The only yellow cards they did receive were for time wasting against Gabriel Jesus and David Raya, leaving defender Akanji irritated.

“I don’t understand,” the City man said. “One in the first half (from Kai Havertz) was a very late tackle on Stefan (Ortega). For me it is clearly a yellow card.

“I don’t want to say just against us. There were also some decisions against them that I didn’t understand that he gave a foul for.

“There are some rules and I think there are clear yellow cards where it should be.

“I remember the action with Jorginho when he’d already done a tackle foul and did the second one and he didn’t even give a yellow card for one foul.

“I didn’t understand some decisions but, in the end, we still should be able to score a goal.”

Put to Akanji the approach worked for Arsenal, he said: “Definitely. When we got through sometimes they stopped us with the fouls and if there’s no actions to it it’s hard.”

City, who sit third in the table, have to shake off that frustration as attention quickly turns to Wednesday’s home match against fourth-placed Aston Villa.

Pep Guardiola’s men have not lost in all competitions since December’s 1-0 reverse at Villa Park and Akanji believes everything is to play for in the title race.

“Yeah, I mean how many games do we have left? Nine, so yeah 27 points to get,” he said. “That’s our goal to get all of them and then we’ll see how it ends.”

Arsenal also return to action on Wednesday, kicking off 45 minutes earlier against relegation-threatened Luton.

The Gunners will go back top of the Premier League should they win as Liverpool do not return to action until Thursday and Jesus is just focusing on what they can do in the title fight.

“It’s the Premier League, it’s a tough league and anything can happen,” the former City forward said.

“It is only two points the difference [with Liverpool] and then we have a very good goal difference.

“Everything counts at the end, but there are still a lot of games. We also have the Champions League. This is the most beautiful part of the season, you try everything to win titles.”

Jesus has widespread experience of this stage of the season having won four Premier League titles with City, where he came into the line-up on Sunday and had Arsenal’s best chances in the first half.

“Well, to play big games, you have to sometimes change your body language,” he said. “To come here and play against them is not easy.

“We tried to win, I think we could win it. Maybe we played a different game to what we normally do, but sometimes football is like this. Each game is different.

“We had some chances, we could score and maybe win the game, but that’s football. We take the point. To come here, to play against them, is difficult, it’s hard.

“We came last season and we suffer a lot, we concede goals and then we made some mistakes. So, to play against this team, normally it is hard and if you make some mistakes, it is even more (hard).

“Today was a bit different, we knew from the start at some point we had to suffer a little bit (playing) deep. They are a team who love the ball, we do as well, but sometimes it is difficult.”

Title rivals Manchester City and Arsenal played out a hard-fought but largely forgettable goalless draw as Liverpool ended the weekend top of the Premier League.

After Jurgen Klopp’s men came back to beat Brighton earlier on Sunday, attention turned to the Etihad Stadium for the final league meeting between any of the three teams vying for glory.

But the high-profile clash fell well short of the pre-match hype as Pep Guardiola’s men were held by former City coach Mikel Arteta and his well-drilled Arsenal side in a cagey 0-0 draw – the first time in 76 Premier League games that last season’s treble winners have been involved in a goalless stalemate.

Whether this proves an important point for either side or a missed opportunity remains to be seen, with Liverpool now at the summit on 67 points ahead of Arsenal on 65 and City on 64.

There is sure to be plenty of twists and turns over final nine matches, but Sunday’s Etihad Stadium encounter was devoid of any such excitement.

Gabriel Jesus had Arsenal’s best opportunities in a drab first half dominated by the home side for most part without creating opportunities.

Referee Anthony Taylor gave little in terms of cards during a game that limped towards a draw, ending the Gunners’ eight-game losing streak in all competitions at the Etihad.

Guardiola made two changes to his starting line-up as Kevin De Bruyne and Nathan Ake came in for Jeremy Doku and the injured Kyle Walker, with Arsenal’s only alteration seeing Jesus replace Leandro Trossard.

The former City forward had the first meaningful chance of a tense afternoon, meeting Ben White’s cross from the right with a touch and strike narrowly wide. Arteta slapped his thighs in frustration.

But City were camped in the visitors’ half before and after that seventh-minute warning shot, albeit their patient probing and possession failed to translate into clear-cut chances.

Ake had the hosts’ only first-half attempt on target – a close-range shouldered effort straight at David Raya from a corner – and was forced off with an apparent calf injury in the 26th minute.

Rico Lewis replaced him shortly after Kai Havertz stretched to meet the ball in a challenge with Stefan Ortega and City’s subsequent defensive rejig was nearly punished by the Gunners five minutes later.

Good play down the right ended with a deep cross to Jakub Kiwior, who dropped the ball back for Jesus to jink into space and hit a low shot across the face of Ortega’s goal.

City responded with a few half-chances but were unable to seriously test an Arsenal side fortunate to go into half-time without a single booking to their name.

Mateo Kovacic bent a 20-yard effort wide within two minutes of the restart as Arsenal began to become as incensed with the lack of yellow cards and fouls as the hosts.

Arteta’s gesticulations in the technical area were mocked by City fans, who held their breath when Bukayo Saka got behind to slide a low ball across the face of goal that just evaded Jesus at the far post.

Manuel Akanji had smartly disrupted the forward’s move otherwise it could have been the opener.

Tempers were rising around the ground and there were ironic cheers in the 67th minute when Jesus received the first booking of the day after throwing the ball away.

But the former City man received applause from some of the home support when he was taken off among a swathe of changes made by both managers.

Arsenal star Saka was another replaced, walking off gingerly shortly after being caught out, but not punished, by De Bruyne.

Raya was booked for time-wasting as Taylor went to his pocket for just the second time, before both sides wasted chances to win it.

First Erling Haaland just failed to get his toe on a ball in the box, then substitute Trossard got behind to test Ortega when he needed a cleaner shot or a pass to Gabriel Martinelli.

Haaland received treatment late on and saw penalty hopes ignored, with the five minutes of stoppage time coming to nothing.

Prior to the match, Liverpool had come from behind to defeat Brighton 2-1 at Anfield. Danny Welbeck gave the visitors a shock lead after two minutes, but Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah both scored to ensure the Reds emerged triumphant.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola called Liverpool the favourites to win the Premier League after his side were held to a goalless home draw by title rivals Arsenal.

After Liverpool came from behind to beat Brighton 2-1 earlier in the day, Jurgen Klopp’s side top the table by two points from the Gunners with City in third, three points from the summit.

Guardiola’s three-time reigning champions have made a habit of putting together long winning runs late in the season to overhaul rivals in the race to finish top, but the Catalan conceded this year’s title race was not in their hands.

“Always who is first is favourite,” Guardiola said when asked if Liverpool were “clear favourites” to win the league.

“The second favourite is Arsenal and we are third…It’s not in our hands. All we can do is think of Aston Villa (at home on Wednesday). Always when we were top of the league, we were favourites. It was in our hands. Now it’s not. It’s simple.”

City and Arsenal both fought hard at the Etihad but produced a match of few chances that will not live long in the memory, with Guardiola’s men failing to score at home for the first time in 58 matches across all competitions.

Last April Arsenal lost 4-1 at the Etihad in the midst of a run which proved pivotal as City overhauled Mikel Arteta’s side on their way to the treble.

There was no repeat as Arsenal’s eight-game losing streak at the Etihad came to an end, and this felt like a more important result for the Gunners.

“I think the context and the way we arrived here 11 months ago was different, but the difficulty remains the same,” Arsenal boss Arteta said.

“They are the best team in the world, in my opinion, by far. They have the best manager in the world by far. To catch up and try to better than them is the challenge ahead of us…

“I don’t know (if the draw is good for the title race). You want to win the game. You prepare to win it. If you cannot win it, make sure you draw it. We did that.

“Eleven months ago we were here and the story was very different. You have to make steps as a team and today we’ve done that. We still have many more to come…

“(It says) that we are improving and competing better and understand how you have to play these games but there is another step to make to win the championship. You have to come here and win.”

Arsenal kept their structure, defending deep and denying City players any space in and around the box.

Asked how to break down such a low block, Guardiola joked: “Kill someone”.

“I recognise my team, the proposals and how we pressed high,” he said. “We’ve played against a low block sometimes and Arsenal are exceptional. Well managed and the players are really good.

“You have to knock on the door of another manager and see if he can do it. As a team we’re still there. We could have more in some aspects but I’m satisfied. I told the team don’t be sad. You give credit to Arsenal for the things they do.”

Title rivals Manchester City and Arsenal played out a hard-fought but largely forgettable goalless draw as Liverpool ended the weekend top of the Premier League.

After Jurgen Klopp’s men came back to beat Brighton earlier on Sunday, attention turned to the Etihad Stadium for the final league meeting between any of the three teams vying for glory.

But the high-profile clash fell well short of the pre-match hype as Pep Guardiola’s men were held by former City coach Mikel Arteta and his well-drilled Arsenal side in a cagey 0-0 draw – the first time in 76 Premier League games that last season’s treble winners have been involved in a goalless stalemate.

Whether this proves an important point for either side or a missed opportunity remains to be seen, with Liverpool now at the summit on 67 points ahead of Arsenal on 65 and City on 64.

There is sure to be plenty of twists and turns over final nine matches, but Sunday’s Etihad Stadium encounter was devoid of any such excitement.

Gabriel Jesus had Arsenal’s best opportunities in a drab first half dominated by the home side for most part without creating opportunities.

Referee Anthony Taylor gave little in terms of cards during a game that limped towards a draw, ending the Gunners’ eight-game losing streak in all competitions at the Etihad.

Guardiola made two changes to his starting line-up as Kevin De Bruyne and Nathan Ake came in for Jeremy Doku and the injured Kyle Walker, with Arsenal’s only alteration seeing Jesus replace Leandro Trossard.

The former City forward had the first meaningful chance of a tense afternoon, meeting Ben White’s cross from the right with a touch and strike narrowly wide. Arteta slapped his thighs in frustration.

But City were camped in the visitors’ half before and after that seventh-minute warning shot, albeit their patient probing and possession failed to translate into clear-cut chances.

Ake had the hosts’ only first-half attempt on target – a close-range shouldered effort straight at David Raya from a corner – and was forced off with an apparent calf injury in the 26th minute.

Rico Lewis replaced him shortly after Kai Havertz stretched to meet the ball in a challenge with Stefan Ortega and City’s subsequent defensive rejig was nearly punished by the Gunners five minutes later.

Good play down the right ended with a deep cross to Jakub Kiwior, who dropped the ball back for Jesus to jink into space and hit a low shot across the face of Ortega’s goal.

City responded with a few half-chances but were unable to seriously test an Arsenal side fortunate to go into half-time without a single booking to their name.

Mateo Kovacic bent a 20-yard effort wide within two minutes of the restart as Arsenal began to become as incensed with the lack of yellow cards and fouls as the hosts.

Arteta’s gesticulations in the technical area were mocked by City fans, who held their breath when Bukayo Saka got behind to slide a low ball across the face of goal that just evaded Jesus at the far post.

Manuel Akanji had smartly disrupted the forward’s move otherwise it could have been the opener.

Tempers were rising around the ground and there were ironic cheers in the 67th minute when Jesus received the first booking of the day after throwing the ball away.

But the former City man received applause from some of the home support when he was taken off among a swathe of changes made by both managers.

Arsenal star Saka was another replaced, walking off gingerly shortly after being caught out, but not punished, by De Bruyne.

Raya was booked for time-wasting as Taylor went to his pocket for just the second time, before both sides wasted chances to win it.

First Erling Haaland just failed to get his toe on a ball in the box, then substitute Trossard got behind to test Ortega when he needed a cleaner shot or a pass to Gabriel Martinelli.

Haaland received treatment late on and saw penalty hopes ignored, with the five minutes of stoppage time coming to nothing.

Prior to the match, Liverpool had come from behind to defeat Brighton 2-1 at Anfield. Danny Welbeck gave the visitors a shock lead after two minutes, but Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah both scored to ensure the Reds emerged triumphant.