Plenty of Liverpool fans will have tuned in to watch Manchester City on Wednesday in the hope of seeing Pep Guardiola’s side slip up once again. For a while at least, it seemed as though they might get their wish.
Despite Everton holding a 1-0 lead at the break though, it would be City that eventually came through for the three points, fighting back to win 3-1 at Goodison Park. Remarkably, it was just the visitors’ second win in their last seven league games.
Having returned from being crowned world champions in Saudi Arabia, City now finds itself in the unfamiliar position of having to play catch-up. Sitting five points behind current leaders Liverpool, it could have been worse for Guardiola’s side given the Reds dropped points against Manchester United and Arsenal.
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No wonder then that the City boss sounded confident about his side’s ability to claw back the deficit, but that wasn’t the most noteworthy moment of his post-match press conference at Goodison. Instead, it was his comments about his club’s own fans that drew some attention.
"Our away supporters are always very good,” Guardiola said (via the ECHO). “They are sometimes more than at the Etihad I would say! It's nice they travel here to be with us and it's nice to be with them.”
The comments were clearly meant in jest, although they won’t do much for City’s reputation at the Etihad. The club is a regular target for rival supporters taking digs at the atmosphere at their home ground, which is often labeled the ‘Emptyhad’.
City fans might not thank their manager then for his claim, although Guardiola might just know what he’s doing. In fact, he could well be taking a leaf out of Jürgen Klopp’s book.
The Liverpool boss criticized the atmosphere during the Reds’ Carabao Cup quarter-final win over West Ham, just days after Gary Neville had labeled the crowd during the draw with Manchester United as the ‘worst ever’ at Anfield. Klopp’s comments divided opinion, but what can’t be denied is that he got the response he desired against Arsenal.
Guardiola will no doubt want something similar, especially given his side’s recent home record. City is without a win in its last three league games at the Etihad, having drawn with Liverpool, Tottenham and Crystal Palace.
If City is to catch and overtake both Liverpool and Arsenal in the title race, it will need to get back to winning ways at home. Klopp might be hoping his tactic doesn’t work out for Guardiola.
