Pep Guardiola’s six-word demand ahead of Liverpool clash speaks volumes

Pep Guardiola has demanded commitment from his Manchester City players ahead of their season-defining clash with Liverpool.

The Citizens' five-match losing streak ended in the Champions League on Tuesday evening, but their 3-3 draw against Feyenoord would have felt more like a defeat. City looked to have rediscovered their mojo as two goals from Erling Haaland either side of Ilkay Gundogan's deflected strike put them 3-0 ahead.

But a huge mistake from Josko Gvardiol allowed Anis Hadj-Moussa to give the Dutch side a route back before Santiago Gimenez rifled in another from close range. City's woes were stunned when a mad decision saw Ederson fail to connect with a high pass 30 yards from goal, allowing Igor Paixao to cross for David Hancko and head into an open goal.

In his post-match interview, Guardiola, who had a worrying amount of self-inflicted scratches on his face and nose, made a clear and concise demand of his players.

He concluded one of his points by demanding, “What I want is a commitment.” He added: “I have a feeling that we will do very good things this season. I am not giving up and I have a feeling that we will be there. You are defending a legacy, a tradition, a success that is so difficult. ” to handle.

“So that's why I relax. If we don't do it, we don't do it. It's just trying to concentrate in the short period and win the next games. So what I want is a commitment.” “

Feyenoord's result means the defending Premier League champions have lost five and drawn one of their last six matches. And things could get worse when they travel to Merseyside to play league leaders Liverpool in their next match.

Ahead of the trip to Arne Slot's Reds, who will have an 11-point lead over the Citizens if they win this weekend, Guardiola looked to inspire his team in his post-match media duties. He added: “The match was good for confidence, we were playing at a good level and then for the first time something happened, we have problems.

“Everyone knows the situation, we don't have to adjust anything. Tomorrow [Wednesday] we have to train, recover and then prepare for the next match. We have two or three days to prepare for it and go for it. We will learn for the future.

“It has been a very difficult season for us due to many circumstances and today the match was unfortunately well done, we punished them at the right moments. The team was so committed to so many things. But unfortunately something happened and we were not strong enough. We must avoid these mistakes.”

City's draw with Slot's former team saw them drop to 15th in the Champions League, two points behind Sporting Lisbon, who are in eighth place. Although they are second in the Premier League, they can finish in fifth place next weekend if Liverpool beat them and Chelsea, Arsenal and Brighton beat Aston Villa, West Ham United and Southampton respectively.