Pep Guardiola begins Newcastle United mind games - Champions League race going to the wire
Pep Guardiola has name-checked Newcastle United as “outstanding” alongside Manchester City’s rivals for Champions League football.
The Premier League champions - although not for much longer - edged out Aston Villa 2-1 in stoppage time last night. In doing so, they moved above Newcastle in the table but the result was not the end of the world.
The consensus among Toon supporters on social media was how anything other than a Villa win would be considered a liveable result. A win over Ipswich Town would restore the Magpies’ five-point lead over Unai Emery’s men.
Defeat at Villa Park on Saturday raised the pressure levels around Tyneside but Newcastle’s fate remains in their hands. A crucial home clash with Chelsea on May 11 could go a long way to deciding the Champions League places.
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Man City were expected to be title challengers having been crowned champions for four consecutive seasons. Last night’s win went a long way to confirming their seat at UEFA’s top table for another year as their attention turns to FA Cup action this weekend.
Speaking after beating Villa, City boss Guardiola threw shade at his own team while labelling rivals - including Newcastle - as “outstanding”. An honest assessment… or possible mind games from the legendary Spaniard?
“This season has been bad,” Guardiola said. “The reality is that we’re determined. What makes you feel this season is good is the Premier League, not the Champions League or the FA Cup.
“It’s the consistency in the Premier League, which we have not been. But it happens. Sometimes you have bad seasons for many reasons. Until the end, we try to avoid the damage.
“We can qualify for the Champions League. Look at the teams. Liverpool will be champions. Arsenal, what can I say? But the other ones. Chelsea, Aston Villa, Newcastle, ourselves and Nottingham Forest. The level of those teams is outstanding.”
Jason Tindall on ‘five cup finals’ for Newcastle United
Jason Tindall kept a sense of perspective following Newcastle’s defeat to Villa at the weekend. He said: “We weren’t happy with the goals we conceded so we’ll review that and put that right on the training field.
“But we can’t fault the players' attitude and effort throughout the season and again today. We’ve got ourselves third in the Premier League and we can’t lose sight of that. We’ve got five cup finals now remaining and we need to make sure we prepare, refresh and we go and deliver the level of performances we’ve seen time and time again, starting with Ipswich at St James’ Park.
"On reflection over the 90 minutes Aston Villa deserved to win. From our perspective maybe a third game in six days caught up with us around about the hour mark. The effort is there. We can't lose sight of where we are.”