Guardiola: Don't compare City with Barca, Bayern
Pep feels they have not earned right to be mentioned in same breath as his former sides
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is pleased with the English Premier League side's improvement and form over the past two months, but will not make any premature comparison with his former clubs.
Guardiola won 14 titles in four seasons at Barcelona and seven in three years at Bayern Munich, but the Spaniard's debut season in England did not yield a trophy as City finished third in the league last campaign and they also lost in the FA Cup semi-finals.
Sunday's 3-1 win over Arsenal, though, opened an eight-point lead at the top of the Premier League table.
Their run of 10 wins and one draw is the best start to a season any team has made in the Premier League era after 11 games, while their 15 straight victories in all competitions is a club record.
They also enter the Champions League knockout stages unbeaten in their group.
Guardiola told reporters after the win against Arsenal: "We cannot deny the last two months have been amazing, we won all the games, to do it in two months is so, so difficult. So, I am so happy.
"We cannot compare my time with Barca and Bayern, because we have not won any titles yet. So, until we are able to lift something, we cannot talk about that.
"But, we cannot deny that in the last two months we played good. A lot of goals, today again three goals and we created many chances."
City's bid for their first league title since 2014 received a boost as second-placed Manchester United lost 1-0 to Chelsea in the late game, allowing the defending champions to move within one point of United.
The Red Devils are level on 23 points with third-placed Tottenham Hotspur.
Besides taking the early initiative in the title race, Guardiola is clearly impressed that his side are also getting results against the top sides.
Liverpool were beaten 5-0 at the Etihad, Chelsea fell 1-0 at home and now Arsenal, something of a bogey team whom City have beaten only once in their previous nine games, have succumbed.
"Last season, we were able to win only twice against the big teams, This season in November, we already won thrice," said Guardiola.
"We spoke about that. If you want to win the Premier League, you have to win, especially at home, against Liverpool, United, Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea. It is so hard to win away."
But, for all his evident delight, he has no time for phrases such as "unstoppable" and "unbeatable".
He said: "All I know is everybody can beat us. That is a principle in all sports.
"It doesn't matter what happened in the past. You can win the Champions League and lose the day after. That is football, basketball, all the sports.
"It is so important to fight more if you want to win the title."
- WIRE SERVICES
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