Pep Guardiola admits Man City ‘can’t handle’ playing against good teams

Pep Guardiola says his Manchester City team 'can't cope' with playing against good sides after Liverpool moved 11 points clear of the champions yesterday.

Cody Gakpo opened the scoring in the first half before Mohamed Salah confirmed the points late on from the penalty spot, capping off a fine week for Arne Slot after they also defeated Real Madrid on Wednesday.

Guardiola was subjected to 'sacked in the morning' chants from home fans after City's winless run extended to seven games. He responded with a light-hearted gesture of holding up six fingers to indicate how many league titles he has won in England.

But he said: “We're not used to this for a lot of reasons, but a lot of things are happening. Teams are good and we can't handle it now.

'What can I say? These players have given me the opportunity to experience perhaps the best years of my life. All I can do is be here to try to find a solution. At the right time the club will make a decision on what is needed for this club to continue to exist.

'I didn't expect Anfield to start singing about me being fired. Maybe I deserved to be fired! With our results I might still be working because I won six Premier Leagues and a lot of titles.

'I didn't expect it at Anfield, but it's fine. It's part of the game. When you win, you laugh. When you lose, you laugh. There have been incredible battles. The time with Jurgen Klopp was unforgettable for me and the battles with Liverpool have been forever.

'Even when they won the competitions by a small margin, their teams were great, but luckily we were so mentally resilient and strong at our best that it helped us do something great.

“This season it will be so difficult to repeat it, but I'm pretty sure we will all think about it and try to come out strong with our fans at the Etihad against Nottingham Forest (Wednesday).”

Guardiola made a big call to drop goalkeeper Ederson and start Stefan Ortega, who played well except for conceding a penalty. But the German had a shrewd attack on Liverpool after the match.

“Someone told me before that this area (Liverpool) is probably not the best part of Britain,” the goalkeeper said. “I think the manager responded very well (to the chants), yes.”