Over to you, Southampton.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has set Southampton a difficult task ahead of their game against Liverpool on Tuesday night.
Guardiola was speaking after his side were held to a 2-2 draw against West Ham United on Sunday afternoon, fighting back from two goals down to remain in the driving seat in the Premier League title race.
Jarrod Bowen’s first-half brace put the Hammers in the ascendency before Jack Grealish’s early second-half response was soon followed by a wonderful cushioned header from Vladimir Coufal, the only downside for him was that it was in his own net.
Beautifully (unintentionally) placed header by Coufal gets City back on level terms pic.twitter.com/oFLAbennNY
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) May 15, 2022
Riyad Mahrez then squandered a golden opportunity to put Man City in front from the penalty spot, as his effort was saved by Lukasz Fabianski.
The result means City now sit four points ahead of Liverpool, who have a game in hand at Southampton. Should they lose at St Mary’s, the Premier League title be City’s
Guardiola’s task isn’t straightforward to say the least.
Given the Saints’ recent form and how good Liverpool are looking of late, that seems near-on impossible.
And during his press conference at West Ham, Guardiola was asked if he had a message for Ralf Hasenhuttl’s side ahead of the game.
The message? Easy: “Beat Liverpool 4-0.”
Pep, asked if he has a message for @SouthamptonFC: "Beat Liverpool 4-0."
— Simon Stone (@sistoney67) May 15, 2022
There you go Southampton, relatively easy.
Guardiola then added that no matter what the result is, his side will continue to fight until the very end and is well aware of the threat posed by City’s closest challengers.
He said: “We will give absolutely everything we have to win the game (Villa) and win the title.
“Against this Liverpool, you cannot win the league with four games ago. You have to fight until the end. The big privilege is that it is at home and it is in our hands.”
