Pep Guardiola says, 'Every game is a challenge'

Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola needs a quick response from his side against Arsenal today to show that Manchester City's challenge for the Premier League title remains intact. Guardiola can be thankful City will go into the match at the Etihad Stadium only five points behind leaders Liverpool. It could well have been worse after a lethargic display brought a surprising 2-1 defeat at relegation-threatened Newcastle on Tuesday, but Jurgen Klopp's side struggled to take advantage as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Leicester the following night.

City could argue Tuesday's defeat was a blip, given they had won their previous eight matches, but three of those victories were in cup games against lower-division opposition.

A more worrying statistic for City manager Guardiola is that his team have lost four of their past nine league fixtures, and that three of those defeats have been against teams who started this weekend in the bottom half of the table. At St James' Park, City allowed their concentration to slip after Sergio Aguero had given them a first-minute lead, and there was a strong sense they missed the leadership skills of club captain Vincent Kompany, who has made just six league starts this season because of a series of fitness problems.

Without Kompany's authority, City are vulnerable to switching off, and that cost them heavily at Newcastle. The Brazilian midfielder, who has been one of City's outstanding performers this season, did not have a good night in England's northeast, clumsily conceding the penalty from which Matt Ritchie scored the home side's winner. City, though, need others around Fernandinho to be more consistent too. Kevin de Bruyne is one player still seeking that consistency, having so far failed to rediscover the form that made him the club's player of the year last season.

But the optimistic City boss said: "If we didn't have the motivation, we would not be where we are, which is still in all competitions. We are in the Carabao (League) Cup final, still in the Champions League, and we are there in the league.

"People were saying not so long ago that we were the perfect team. My answer is the same now as it was then: Every game is a challenge. There are ups and downs during a season. Players cannot sustain the same level for 11 months of a season."

Higuain scores twice for Chelsea, Spurs strike late
London: Son Heung-min struck late to fire Tottenham into second place in the Premier League on Saturday as Gonzalo Higuain opened his account for Chelsea in a five-goal rout at Stamford Bridge. Spurs looked to be heading for their first league draw of the season at Wembley but Son's 83rd-minute goal earned Mauricio Pochettino's men a hard-fought 1-0 win over Newcastle and enabled them to leapfrog Manchester City, who play on Sunday.

Chelsea beat bottom side Huddersfield 5-0 thanks to two goals apiece from Higuain and Eden Hazard and a late header from David Luiz as they returned emphatically to goalscoring form. Tottenham are now just four points behind leaders Liverpool, who are in action at West Ham on Monday, but just as significantly they consolidated their position in the top four after their 19th win in 25 matches.

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