Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola suggests his side are in a battle for the top four spots rather than a title race following a thrilling 3-2 Premier League defeat at Wolves.
Matt Doherty’s 89th-minute winner settled a chaotic game which saw 10-man City lose a 2-0 lead.
Adama Traore and Raul Jimenez levelled after Raheem Sterling’s double, his first coming from a rebound following a twice-taken penalty – awarded by VAR – which Rui Patricio saved both times.
City goalkeeper Ederson was dismissed after just 12 minutes and the defending champions now trail Liverpool by 14 points in the Premier League having played a game more.
But, with City third, boss Guardiola is adamant they must still focus on the league or risk missing out on the Champions League places.
He said: “We cannot prioritise the cup competitions because if so next season we might not be in Europe.
“We are used to being at the top fighting and now we are far away. We have to adjust mentally to the situation and prepare for the next games.
“I said many times ‘it’s unrealistic to think about Liverpool. We have to think about Leicester’. We have a chance to recover second position. We are third and that is the situation.
“We have to move on. The first season was quite similar to now but in the second and third seasons we were there all the time and winning a lot of games.
“Now, because of some mistakes and some other situations, we are far away.”
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