Manchester City face an uphill struggle to regain their Premier League crown after dropping points again in a 1-1 draw at West Ham United, but coach Pep Guardiola insisted his side would not give up on trying to catch leaders Arsenal.
A late Arsenal victory against Everton was followed by a poor performance from City, who for all their possession and passing could only score once against a West Ham side fighting for Premier League survival.
The result leaves City nine points off Arsenal with eight games to play, though with a game in hand and a potentially key clash against their closest rivals at Etihad Stadium next month.
Guardiola himself had suggested the title race could be over if City dropped points against West Ham, but when that was put to him he asked: “Who said?”
When he was reminded he had said it, Guardiola sain in an interview: “No, it’s not over — because we did not lose.”
Guardiola accepted, however, that City’s lack of cutting edge was what had cost them once more this season.
“They did everything, they fought, 24 shots, I don’t know how many,” Guardiola told reporters. “We had to be better in the final third, we didn’t do it and that’s all.”
City have lost just once in their last 18 Premier League games, but have dropped 10 points from winning positions in that run, including two in their previous league game against struggling Nottingham Forest.
Arsenal have finished as runners-up for three seasons in a row, the first two times to a City side that seemed to be able to find a way to win, especially in the run-in. But that quality has deserted Guardiola’s side, who just do not have their old aura of invincibility.
“The consistency that we had in the past, this season we didn’t get it,” Guardiola conceded.