Aguero: ‘Not wise’ to rule Man City out of title race yet

Sergio Aguero insists it is “not wise” to rule out the prospect of Manchester City overtaking Liverpool at the top of the Premier League.

Liverpool opened an eight-point lead at the top with a 3-2 win over Southampton on Sunday, a day after City's humiliating 4-0 home defeat to Tottenham.

It is the second-largest lead for any team at the top after 12 games in a Premier League season, surpassed only by Manchester United's nine-point lead in 1993-94.

However, City have made up ground previously as they trailed Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool to win the title – the latter with 10 points in 2018/19.

And Aguero, a five-time Premier League winner with City, has warned Liverpool that history could repeat itself this season.

“The experts are always quick to call the race and my reaction is always the same: it's not over until it's over,” he told Stake.com.

“The current points advantage could be insignificant by the end of the season. We have seen that happen many times.

“In the 2011/2012 season we were eight points behind United and we won that trophy.”

City are the first reigning English top-flight champions to have lost five games in a row in all competitions since Chelsea in March 1956.

Three of those defeats came in the Premier League, where Opta's supercomputer now gives Pep Guardiola's side just a 15.4% chance of winning.

That compares with 76% for Liverpool, but those percentages could change drastically if City take three points at Anfield when the teams face each other next weekend.

“Beating Liverpool will definitely help,” Aguero said. “But it is not wise to make such sweeping statements when the tournament still has a long way to go.”