Man City's Ilkay Gundogan backs up Pep Guardiola's Liverpool Premier League title admission
Man City's crisis hit a new low when they blew a 3-0 lead to draw 3-3 with Feyenoord, with Ilkay Gundogan claiming defeat at Liverpool will signal the end of their title hopes
Ilkay Gundogan has admitted Manchester City can forget the title if they lose at Liverpool in Sunday's top-of-the-table showdown.
Crisis-hit City's problems continued on Tuesday when they blew a 3-0 lead at home to draw 3-3 with Feyenoord in the Champions League, conceding all three goals with 15 minutes left.
Although the draw ended a run of five straight defeats in all competitions – the first time boss Pep Guardiola has suffered such a run – the late collapse underlined City's current failings.
Arne Slot's Premier League leaders are already eight points clear of nearest challengers City and midfielder Gundogan said an 11-point gap would be too big to close if they were to lose at Anfield.
READ MORE: Man City throw away three-goal lead in embarrassing Feyenoord collapse as crisis escalatesREAD MORE: Pep Guardiola admits Man City deserve to boo after Champions League collapseAfter losing 4-0 to Tottenham Guardiola admitted City would be out of the race with another loss at Anfield. Asked if Sunday's game is a must-win for City, Gundogan said: “To stay in the title race, probably yes, because 11 points would be a huge gap. It's still early in the season.
“There are still a lot of games to play and a lot of things can happen, not just on our side but at every other team. But obviously we have to look at ourselves and try to do the things we can do better, as quickly as possible. We take it, stay humble, head down and try to put in the work in the next few days and prepare as well as possible for a tough game.
“Anfield is always tough, no matter the situation. We've struggled in recent years going there and we know Liverpool are a great team full of confidence right now. It's going to be as tough as it is possible to be. But that sums up the situation right now. It seems we have to go through this season the toughest way possible.”
City's aura of invincibility has been stripped away in recent weeks, with their players bereft of confidence, heading into their biggest game of the season against the title favourites.
Guardiola's side created history last season by becoming the first side in English football to win four straight league titles, but their era of dominance appears to be coming to an inglorious end.
Gundogan, who returned to City in the summer after a year at Barcelona, said: “Obviously we've done this ourselves a little bit, but hopefully we can get out of that as quickly as possible, especially in such a big game.
READ MORE: Pep Guardiola causes controversy with explanation on cuts to his face after Man City drawREAD MORE: Alan Shearer doesn't hold back in rant on 'weak' Man City after Feyenoord embarrassment“It would give ourselves a boost to perform well and then obviously to get something out of the game. That is how we will approach the game.
“I think in the last games, even though the Tottenham result [losing 4-0 at home] was incredible, the sensation I had was we were still able to perform for periods on a high level.
“But the result didn't show this at all, in the end. Tottenham played well and deserved to win, but we have to use these moments, to lift ourselves up and to get up as quickly as possible.
“Right now, it's tougher. The sensation right now, if I'm honest, is a big disappointment. But again, football is football and it sometimes creates incredible moments and difficult moments that you have to face.
“You only get through it when you face it, when you accept it, when you get challenged and you try to do your best to get out of this situation as quickly as possible.”
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle in an unbeatable new deal that saves £192 and includes more than 1,000 live matches each season across the Premier League, EFL and more.