Manchester City kept the pressure on leaders Arsenal with a 2-0 win at Nottingham Forest on Sunday but manager Pep Guardiola said they still have a mountain to climb in their bid for a fourth straight Premier League crown.
Josko Gvardiol and Erling Haaland scored either side of halftime at the City Ground as Guardiola’s team moved on to 79 points from 34 games. Arsenal have 80 points from 35 games.
Asked about City’s chances of winning the Premier League, Guardiola told reporters: “It’s far away. Ask me this question when we are top of the league and (have) one game left.
“But with four games left, it’s like (we have to) climb a big mountain. It’s in our hands… We draw a game we are not going to win the Premier League.”
While Arsenal’s title charge fizzled out in the last few weeks last season, Mikel Arteta’s side are not going away this year, showing grit to hold on for a 3-2 victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
Guardiola did not expect them to falter again.
“We prefer (if) they lose but we cannot control what they do. They make a good result and yeah, it’s four games left,” Guardiola said.
“I think (they’re) not going to lose any points and we know exactly what we have to do.”
Haaland had missed City’s last two games through injury, but scored a clinical goal taken goal just nine minutes after coming on as a substitute.
The goal saw Haaland move clear of Cole Palmer as the league’s top scorer with 21 goals.
“It’s an important win and it is good to be back,” Haaland said.
“We knew it was going to be a fight, and the pitch was not the easiest to play on but we cannot complain. It is about winning and that is exactly what we did.”
