Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has claimed that both Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur are better than City at the minute, after a 2-1 defeat to Leicester City left Guardiola's side third in the Premier League.
City enjoyed lots of possession and took the lead through Bernardo Silva, but Leicester recovered well and levelled quickly through Marc Albrighton. Leicester's rigid defence frustrated City, and Ricardo Pereira's fantastic late winner saw City drop further behind Liverpool, and behind Tottenham in the league table.
Speaking after the game, Guardiola admitted he needs to find a solution to City's problems. He told Sky Sports: "The game was quite similar to Crystal Palace. We started well, we scored a goal, and after the first time they arrive, they score.
"After what happened, we have to overcome the situation and we didn't.
"Except 5-10 minutes at the end of the first half, we were quite well. Maybe at the top we lacked a bit of power to create more chances, but the game was there. At the end, a fantastic goal, so they punish us."
City have now suffered back-to-back defeats to Leicester and Palace, and they were without defensive midfielder Fernandinho who has been suffering from a thigh injury.
Guardiola added: "Fernandinho is not able to play because he's injured, we know that, so we have to overcome. [Ilkay] Gundogan was good, he was good with the ball. We don't have a player like Fernandinho in the squad. In our position, we have to think about how to solve it."
Whilst City tasted defeat, both Liverpool and Tottenham picked up three points which meant City fell to third in the table, and Guardiola admitted that the two sides are ahead of City on merit. He said: "They deserve it. They win games, we don't win games so the gap increases.
"Last season, we were so stable and consistent in earning a lot of points, and this season, especially Liverpool and Tottenham, they are so good. So today we have finished the first round [of fixtures], we have these last two defeats, but we have enough points to be champions.
"The problem is the other teams get a lot of points too. That's the reality, they are better than us in this moment. We have to accept where we are and improve."
Source :
90min
