After Arsenal’s victory, the champions triumph at Forest.
“They are not going to lose any points,” said Guardiola.
Pep Guardiola has cautioned Manchester City not to lose any more games if they want to win the Premier League for a record-breaking fourth time in a row. He also believes Arsenal will win the rest of their games after showing their strength by overcoming Spurs on Sunday. Erling Haaland and Josko Gvardiol helped City defeat Nottingham Forest, moving them one point behind first place—but importantly, with a game remaining.
Guardiola stated of Arsenal, “We prefer they lose; we cannot control what they do.” “We know exactly what we have to do; there are four games left, and I don’t think they will lose any points.”
Nottingham saw a less-than-historic City performance as Forest, who will find out this week the outcome of their points deduction appeal, played disciplined defense to make things as tough as they could. Even though the hosts had opportunities of their own, Chris Wood and Murillo were unable to score from close range.
Harder than it was the previous season, when we drew, and we performed far better than it did today. Guardiola remarked of the victory, “We knew the conditions going into the game when we came here. “We were extremely fortunate for the pitch to be so dry, as they had excellent chances to score on better conditions, so we were really fortunate for that.”
Five straight Premier League victory for City would guarantee a sixth championship under Guardiola. Four more wins would complete the sweep. Guardiola remarked, “The players were really good but suffering.” “The second half was much better; we had the game in our hands after the second goal, but it was so dangerous—at certain points, they were far superior to us.”
Ederson, Guardiola’s first-choice goalkeeper, was forced off with a shoulder injury before halftime and exited the field with his arm in a sling. This means that Guardiola may have to play without him for the rest of the season. “It appears unfavorable,” stated Guardiola. “We’ll see the doctor tomorrow.”
Stefan Ortega, a frequent substitute who performed well against Forest, took Ederson’s place. Ortega made a wonderful stop to keep Callum Hudson-Odoi from scoring from distance.
The burden was on City following Arsenal’s victory over Tottenham. After taking a three-goal lead against Tottenham, the Gunners had to fight to win as Cristian Romero and Son Heung-min cut into the lead. This resulted in a tense ending for Arsenal, who managed to hold on for a potentially significant victory.
Mikel Arteta responded, “Yeah, 100%,” when asked if he thought the Arsenal team had a fighting mentality. It’s something I’ve witnessed all season. Every day, they offer me cause to believe that. We’re on the right track. It is a lovely source of motivation for what lies ahead. Everyone here anticipates that they will give it their all.
After their remaining trips to Fulham and Tottenham, City will play at home against Wolves and West Ham. Arsenal’s opponents in the title battle are Bournemouth, Manchester United, and Everton, therefore both teams will be looking to their closest geographical rivals for a favor.