Guardiola backs PL title race to return to ‘normality’ following recent seasons of dominance | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has backed the Premier League title race to return to ‘normality’ following the unprecedented standards set by the division’s champions in recent seasons.

The opening weeks of the new season have brought a host of surprises and shock results, with the likes City, Manchester United and Liverpool having all already suffered emphatic defeats.

Everton are the early leaders at the top, whilst Aston Villa have made a perfect start to the season to sit second and many have speculated that this could be the most open campaign for several seasons.

Ahead of tomorrow’s clash at in-form West Ham, Guardiola was asked for his view on the title race and believes it is too early to make predictions for the campaign, but suggested he expects there to be more twists and turns in the coming months.

“I don’t know [about the title race]. Too early to know it,” he said at his pre-match press conference. “It looks like there are unexpected results, but the situation is all over the world not just in this bubble.

“In our normal lives you cannot go out as usual in the restaurants and that is a problem so everyone takes influence in the games. It’s only four games.”

Guardiola’s Man City side set unprecedented standards in 2017/18  to become the first side in history to reach 100 points in a Premier League campaign, before following that up with another 98 point haul the year after as they secured back-to-back championships.

Liverpool then secured a first league title in three decades last term and did so after recording a club-record 99 points, beating their landmark of 97 set the previous season – the highest ever recorded by a side finishing as runners-up.

Guardiola believes we will now see a return to ‘normality’ following the record-breaking campaigns of his side and their Merseyside rivals, predicting the Premier League will once again become ‘the most open league in the world’.

“I think before I came here the history of the Premier League speaks for itself. It’s the most open league in the world,” he added.

“The last two seasons, two teams dominate the league with a big, big game between the other ones is an exceptional season for this league.

“The normality will be back this season.”

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