Manchester City drew with Brighton in a result that keeps them in contention for a top four finish but couldn’t inflict a blow on their rivals at the Etihad.
Pep Guardiola accepted that the pressure got to Manchester City on and off the pitch on Saturday with a Premier League top four finish still up in the air after drawing with Brighton.
City scored twice in the first half, but were twice pegged back by soft goals and had to settle for a point that keeps them one ahead of Brighton in the race for the top four. It is likely that fifth-place will be enough for an additional Champions League spot, however there is stiff competition from fourth down to ninth as four points separate six challengers.
The atmosphere at the Etihad was muted on Saturday, especially in a low-tempo second half, and Guardiola noticed the nerves in the stands during the game.
“Yeah definitely [it was nervous]. Everybody felt the pressure. It is what it is,” he said. “We have to play better and after they will be back. in the good moments they are there but they feel it when it is not good.”
With one point from the games against Nottingham Forest and Brighton, the Champions League is no closer for City and Guardiola expects qualification to go to the final day of the season in May.
“It looks like it. I don’t know,” he said of a final day decider between multiple teams for a Champions League place. “Nine games until the end of the season, our qualification depends on home. We didn’t lose, if you can’t win try to be stable and at Forest we conceded a goal that was not good enough. Until the end I think so.
“I’m always confident. I am a master. I find the positiveness in everything. I know it will be difficult. Nine games, nine finals. After, Old Trafford [vs Manchester United in April]. People first go to the national team and come back fresh and come back.”
Guardiola had used his programme notes to call for a string of wins to underpin their Champions League hopes rather than just one victory at a time.
“If we want to qualify for the Champions League next season, we have to win games and if we don’t win enough games in a row to be secure it will be a battle,” he wrote. “We have ten games left and we have to win a lot of games to qualify. It’s as simple as that.”
