Pep Guardiola admits Manchester City are “miles away” from Arne Slot’s Liverpool | OneFootball

Manchester City are currently “miles away” from Premier League champions Liverpool, according to Pep Guardiola, but will be better during the next campaign.

Arne Slot and his players ended Manchester City’s run of four consecutive Premier League titles during the most-recent campaign, claiming their first top-flight win since the 2019/20 season under Jurgen Klopp in a Covid-19 hit season.

From the side of City, Pep Guardiola’s players experienced a season like no other both on and off the pitch, and while still finishing third in the division, the results across competitions marked the worst campaign under the Catalan coach at the club.

Injuries, fitness problems, and poor individual form brought a bright start to the season crashing down across November, December, and January, leaving Manchester City out of the chase for the biggest of prizes by the midway stage of the season.

Speaking after City’s final day win over Fulham at Craven Cottage, Pep Guardiola spoke openly about about the challenge of competing with Liverpool for the Premier League title as soon as next season after a disappointing drop-off in standards across 2024/25.

“Can I challenge them? I don’t know! We are miles away from them! How many points are they in front of us – 14, 15, 16 points?! So that is the reality. But I have the feeling that next season we will be better,” Guardiola said.

“But I don’t know how we will react after the [FIFA Club] World Cup, if we will be exhausted without holidays for next season, that will be longer and longer. So I don’t know. But I have the feeling that as much we are fit, we will try, we will be there, we will be closer I would say.

“We will be closer. Always we have done since I arrived 80 plus, 90, 90, 90, 90 [points], this season we’ve done 71 points. It’s miles away from what we have done, our standards in the past. It happened, for many reasons, I know exactly which ones, but next season now, we celebrate that and prepare for the next one,” he added.

Guardiola continued, “Always football, sport gives you another chance, another challenge, and the challenge is next season being there if we prove ourselves and we are able to do. And the players have proved today, coming here, beating that team, and we did it!”

“And that makes me feel, still they have something inside, still they have pride, still they want to play against the best teams in Europe – you know that? And today they proved it! And that’s why I’m really pleased…

“And thanks again to Kevin [De Bruyne] for his incredible contribution in this month, month-and-a-half because he played all the games except today, the contribution to help us to be in the Champions League next season.”

Most importantly for Pep Guardiola and Manchester City, the club did manage to book their spot in next season’s UEFA Champions League, ensuring that they will remain at the very summit of European football despite their drop-off in standards last campaign.