Pep Guardiola felt Manchester City had survived a “tsunami” after the champions’ crunch Premier League title clash at Liverpool on Sunday ended 1-1.
John Stones gave City a 23rd-minute lead in an absorbing contest at Anfield but the Reds hit back with an Alexis Mac Allister penalty early in the second half.
Both sides had opportunities to win the game but Liverpool had spells of dominance and Guardiola was relieved to come through them.
The result leaves the title race thrillingly poised, with Arsenal leading on goal difference from Liverpool and with City just one point behind with 10 games remaining.
City manager Guardiola said: “We spoke at half-time that in this stadium, if you have to defend something, you have to play and play and play.
“We gave away the penalty and, sooner or later, with this stadium, you have 15 or 20 minutes and it looks like a tsunami coming for everybody who has the ball.
“It is not easy but we never stopped trying to play. They had their chances, we had our chances and at the end of the game it (draw) is what happened.”
Guardiola, whose side are chasing a fourth successive Premier League crown and a sixth in seven years, is pleased to be involved in the thick of another title race.
He said: “Still there are 10 games to go, 30 points to play for, one point difference.
“The important thing is still we are there, after where we came from in previous seasons still we are there. Except one year when Liverpool won it with a lot of points, we were always there.”
The ball twice hit the Liverpool goal frame in the second half as Jeremy Doku struck a post and the ball also thumped off the bar after rebounding off Phil Foden, but the hosts felt they should have had another penalty late on.
Doku appeared to catch Mac Allister high in the chest in stoppage time but referee Michael Oliver gave nothing and VAR did not overturn the decision.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp had no doubt it should have been a spot-kick but did not want to make a fuss of it.
He said: “Yes (it was a penalty) but whatever I think now will not change that. I think everyone in this room thinks, if he whistles a penalty, it is not a scandal.
“He hits him on the chest. Yes, he touches the ball before but does that make any difference on any position of the pitch if your leg is that high?
“Why would the guy in the VAR studio think that’s not clear and obvious? What must you have for lunch if you think that’s not clear and obvious?
“But I’m not angry. I really don’t care. I’m already over it.”
Klopp was pleased with the performance of his side, given their lengthy injury list, and is determined to battle on.
The German, who is stepping down at the end of the season, said: “We would have loved to use one of the massive chances we created.
“Yes, we are lucky when Doku hit the post but we played an exceptional football game.
“For us, besides the result, the most important information is that we are right there. We go the distance.
“For us it is probably a little bit like, how did we get through all that and that we are still there? It is crazy with all these games and the squad situation we have.
“Today I saw the best 53 minutes we had against Manchester City. It was exceptional how we played.”
World Cup Girlz back in the fold? Gilbert hints at return of experienced players for Brazil friendlies
For the first time in almost nine months, it seems as if Jamaica’s interim Reggae Girlz Head coach Xavier Gilbert will have members of the World Cup squad at his disposal, when they visit Brazil for a two-match friendly international series in June.
The Girlz, who first locked horns with Brazil, and lost 0-3, at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, went one better at last year’s global showpiece in Australia, as they not only held the South American giants to a goalless stalemate, but also ensured their elimination at the group stage.
By all indications, that performance, and by extension, the fact that the Girlz made an historic appearance in the knockout stages of the World Cup, earned them even more respect from the number 10-ranked Brazilians, who are currently in preparation for this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
The games, scheduled for June 1 and 4, are expected to assist Brazil in their preparation, while the now 42nd-ranked Jamaicans will get a much-needed test to regain their appetite for international competition, having last sported the nationals colours against Canada last September.
Since that Olympic qualifying fixture in Canada, members of the World Cup squad withdrew their services from national representation, citing lack of payment and mistreatment from the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), among their reasons.
While it is yet to be confirmed how many, if any, of the World Cup players will make the trip, Gilbert gave the clearest indication yet that there might be a few, as he welcomed the games, after not utilizing the last FIFA window.
“It is always important to secure games during the international window. It not only assists in exposing players, but it also ensures the team is active, which helps our rankings, and also our quality of play. Because as you know, the more we play together, especially against quality opponents, the better the team becomes, and we also get to work on different things both offensively and defensively,” Gilbert told SportsMax.TV.
“The expectation is for us to give a good account of ourselves, it has been a while since these players have played together, but the good thing is that they are actively engaged in their respective leagues in Europe and United States. So, it is not like they were inactive, and obviously, it is not the first time they will be playing together.
“So, we just have to keep things as simple or as close to what we did prior to, and during the World Cup, to make sure we are competitive. It is going to be a little bit different, but it’s not far-fetched that we can get another positive result against Brazil,” he added.
Atletico Madrid 3-1 Athletic Bilbao: Hosts close in on top-four finish
Atletico Madrid beat newly crowned Copa del Rey winners Athletic Bilbao 3-1 at home in LaLiga on Saturday as Diego Simeone's side moved a step closer to a top-four finish.
Fourth-placed Atletico moved onto 64 points and have increased their advantage over Athletic, in fifth, to six points with five games to play.
Midfielder Rodrigo de Paul put Atletico in front in the 15th minute with a goal from outside the box. After controlling an attempted clearance from the visitors, his effort dipped just under the bar as his strike deflected off one of the Athletic defenders.
Athletic levelled just before half-time through Nico Williams after Antoine Griezmann lost the ball through a careless pass.
But Angel Correa restored the lead for Atletico in the 52nd minute and later came close to scoring again.
With 10 minutes to play, away goalkeeper Unai Simon inadvertently made it 3-1 with an own goal after Samuel Lino’s effort came back off the post, ending any Athletic hopes of a comeback.
Hull City 3-3 Ipswich Town: Tigers fight back three times to deny Tractor Boys
Ipswich Town missed the chance to move into an automatic promotion spot as play-off-chasing Hull City came from behind three times in a thrilling 3-3 Championship draw at The MKM Stadium.
Ipswich knew a victory would take them second after Leeds United were surprisingly beaten 4-0 by Queens Park Rangers on Friday, and they led on three separate occasions, George Hirst opening the scoring before Omari Hutchinson produced two brilliant strikes from the edge of the area.
However, buoyed by slip-ups from rivals Norwich City and West Brom earlier on Saturday, Hull dug deep to fight back on each occasion, Ozan Tufan and Liam Delap scoring their first two equalisers.
With Liam Rosenior's men 3-2 down with just four minutes to play, substitute Noah Ohio blasted his shot in off the crossbar to punish an error from Ipswich goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky.
The result keeps Ipswich behind second-placed Leeds on goal difference, though the Tractor Boys have a game in hand to come at Coventry City on Tuesday.
Hull, meanwhile, are two points adrift of the top six, with Norwich's goal difference advantage meaning their top-six spot is all but assured. The Tigers will, however, leapfrog West Brom if they beat Plymouth Argyle on the final day and Albion lose to Preston North End.
Data Debrief: Hutchinson's best not enough
Hutchinson was a man who deserved to be on the winning side on Saturday, giving Ryan Allsop no chance with two near-identical left-footed strikes from the right corner of the penalty area.
His goals came from an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.6, and he led all players on the pitch for shots (eight) and passes in the final third (21), also laying on three chances for his team-mates.
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