Pep Guardiola insists the Premier League title race is not over after Liverpool end Manchester City’s unbeaten start
PEP GUARDIOLA insists the road to the Premier League title will be long and hard after Liverpool ended Manchester City's unbeaten start.
Guardiola's runaway leaders hit a late double but failed to stop the Reds winning 4-3 in arguably the game of the season so far.
The Spaniard stayed calm as he claimed defeat was "absolutely normal" - especially as he believes his team is still young in some key positions.
Guardiola told the BBC: "People asked if everything was over and done before Christmas and now it’s January and it’s not.
"We have a lot of games to win to be Champions and will try for the next game against Newcastle.
"We have to learn. We have a young team in many places.
"We have a lot of games and hopefully we can stay fit in the schedule of games every three days."
Guardiola insisted City fought back well after some whirlwind Liverpool raids.
REDEMPTION Arsenal fans celebrate as Liverpool down Manchester City to end unbeaten run
Leroy Sane's near-post thumper cancelled out Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's fine early opener for the Reds.
But Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mo Salah put Liverpool 4-1 up with three goals in eight minutes from a mixture of devastating finishing and dodgy defending.
Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan sparked tremors from Reds boss Jurgen Klopp by pouncing in the last six minutes.
And, although city missed out on a leveller, Guardiola claims he will take heart from their attitude.
He added: "Congratulations to Liverpool for their performance. We knew what a good team they are."
"We were not precise with the ball and started with problems but we recovered as well.
"Then we conceded a goal and then we lost a bit of control. We were not as stable. Then after that it was difficult as we conceded too many goals in five or 10 minutes.
“We tried and now we recover.
"We conceded a goal from Firmino when we were the better side but they can punish you when you make a mistake.
"They have the quality to run and make fast counter attacks."
And of City's sudden fightback, Guardiola said: “Yes it’s a good thing.
"We've won a lot of games in the last minute but to concede four goals is not good.
most read in football
"You have to live this type of situation during a season.
“I’ve won a lot of titles and always I’ve dropped points and lost games. It's normal.
"Every team fights for the Champions League, to win the league or to stay up. But to lose a game is absolutely normal."