Pep Guardiola makes Premier League title admission ahead of Liverpool game | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola admitted that his side's defence of their Premier League title could be over if they lose to Liverpool next weekend.

Tottenham Hotspur romped to a 4-0 victory over City at the Etihad on Saturday evening, condemning England's top-flight champions to a fifth consecutive defeat across all competitions and their third on the spin in the Premier League. Guardiola had never previously lost more than three straight games during his glittering managerial career.

City travel to Anfield next Sunday to face a Liverpool side that have been effectively faultless so far this season. When quizzed on whether City would be out of the running if they lost to the Reds, Guardiola admitted: "Yeah, it's true."

The Catalan coach added: "We're not thinking about winning or losing [the title], we are not in the situation to think about what is going to happen at the end of the season.

"If in the end we don't win it's because we don't deserve it. We won it in the past because we deserved it.

Pep Guardiola had his water bottle handy during a hefty defeat to Spurs / Naomi Baker/GettyImages

"What we have to do now is [beat] Feyenoord [on Tuesday]. That is the most important thing - first for the qualification for the CL [Champions League] - and step by step the players will be better."

Guardiola described his side as "fragile" after a nut-and-bolt dismantling from Spurs. City have conceded 17 goals in 12 Premier League games this season, as many as a Crystal Palace side residing in the relegation zone.

City right-back Kyle Walker, who delivered a desperately underwhelming display against his former club on Saturday, offered some optimism. "We're going through a bad spell, but we will come out the end of it," the England international told reporters post-match.

"We've got the characters and more than enough ability in there to do so. We won't give up. We've all achieved a lot for this club. It's a new season and we need to go and fight for the Premier League again.

"We've got a game on Tuesday - we just need to get one win and hopefully we get our mojo back. Do I think we've lost confidence - no, I think it's stupid for us to say that. We just need to start winning again."