Manchester City’s title hopes fade after West Ham draw, but Guardiola vows to fight on | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is refusing to concede defeat in the Premier League title race, despite seeing his side held to a 1-1 draw by West Ham United.

After watching Arsenal produce a late show to secure a 2-0 victory over Everton, City needed all three points on their visit to the London Stadium to keep their already slim title hopes alive.

However, Bernardo Silva’s opener was cancelled out by Konstantinos Mavropanos, leaving City nine points adrift of the summit with nine games remaining.

Despite this, Guardiola – who watched the game from the stands due to a two-match touchline ban – is refusing to see the gap as insurmountable.

“It [the title race] is not over,” Guardiola told TNT Sports.

“We didn’t lose, we will continue. We have an incredible team and spirit. We fought after an incredible amount of effort in Madrid.

“Nine points is a lot against Arsenal, but it happened. We have the game at home, so we have to try until the end.

“When it is not possible, then we congratulate the champion, but we have to try.”

For City, the blueprint is clear: relentlessly pursue perfection in their remaining fixtures and hope the pressure begins to weigh on Arsenal

While City may ultimately fall short in their bid to beat Arsenal to the Premier League trophy, they have a better chance of denying Mikel Arteta’s side silverware in next Sunday’s EFL Cup final at Wembley.

For now, though, the immediate focus will be on Tuesday’s Champions League second leg against Real Madrid, where the Cityzens will attempt to overturn a 3-0 deficit.