Pep Guardiola has expressed his joy at going clear at the top of the Premier League table after winning against Leeds United at the Etihad.
Prior to the game against the Lilywhites, Guardiola’s men were one point clear of Arsenal, having completed their outstanding games to pip the Gunners to the top spot in the league.
The win puts them in full advantage to win the Premier League for a third straight season in a row as Arsenal can only hope for City to drop points in their remaining games while winning all of theirs. This showed Pep Guardiola at his best: a tireless title chaser who does not give up until the last minute.
Arsenal look to be his latest victims in a season where they both overachieved and underachieved. Having spent over 95 percent of the season as the league leaders, the Gunners are now close to setting the record for the longest time at the top without winning the league title in all of European football.
While Mikel Arteta will focus on his race to May 28 starting with a key game against Newcastle United on Sunday, Guardiola will be celebrating. He has a key UEFA Champions League tie against Real Madrid on Tuesday but he plans to savour the moment that could see him write his name in Premier League history.
“The performance was excellent,” Guardiola said at the end of their tie against Leeds. “We played really good; we were not clinical enough but it’s football.
“I’m not going to explain my feelings about the game for the last five or six minutes. But in general it was really good – the first half was better than the second. But the second half was also under control.”
Ilkay Gundogan, who is on the verge of leaving the club in the summer, was captain for the afternoon. His goals sank the visiting Leeds United but a late strike from former Valencia man Rodrigo Moreno set up a tense finish. City held on and secured the win, which could have been by a bigger margin if Erling Haaland had not been prevented by the woodwork or Gundogan had buried a spotkick which could have given him a hat-trick.
Guardiola had previously praised Arsenal for giving his team a reason to fight while congratulating them on securing a top four slot after six seasons.
He will now turn his attention to Carlo Ancelotti’s team as he seeks to correct the errors that led to them missing out on the 2021/22 Champions League final against Liverpool.
