Man City just slipped again yesterday, losing the Manchester Derby to United 1-2 at home. Liverpool, on the side, didn’t allow a mistake and beat Bournemouth 3-0. Thus, now an astounding 14 points gap separates the main title contenders. The battle appears to be over.
Have Man City lost all hopes of 3rd title?
The situation doesn’t look good at all for Pep Guardiola and his team. They were outclassed and lost their direct clash with Liverpool a month ago. Then came the 2-2 draw at Newcastle and the painful loss to local rivals United at home.
This means that now City has lost four and drew two in total – the same number they had at the end of the 2018/19 season. “The Citizens” won the title, just one point above Liverpool. Now, City would need to win every single remaining match they have the league in order to reach the same amount of points from last year – 98.
And Liverpool would need to draw six more games and lose one to gain their 97 from last season. Plus, we can’t leave Leicester out of the picture. “The Foxes” are currently three points ahead of City and are yet to play Aston Villa later today. So they can be six above Guardiola’s side and eight behind top-placed Liverpool.
Let’s not forget Man City are currently only three points above 4th Chelsea. That may be a battle of its own if things go totally downhill for the reigning champions.
History denies City, the future is tough
No team has ever won the top English division after being as much as 14 points behind the leader (after playing an equal amount of games).
The next games in the EPL for “The Citizens” are a tricky trip to Arsenal, followed by a huge match versus Leicester. Then City plays Wolves and Sheffield United to end the year, hosting Everton to kick-off 2020. By that time we’ll probably have further clarity over what City’s future holds. And even what Pep Guardiola’s future holds.
He may have won two consecutive Premier League titles, but potentially finishing third or fourth this season, combined with a potential elimination early in the Champions League, may lead to a wind of change at “Etihad”.
Of course, there’s still a long road ahead till the end of the season. As we know, English football is unpredictable and never fails to deliver tons of drama.
And who knows how to win a title more dramatically than Man City?
