Kevin De Bruyne is the latest Manchester City player to emphasize that Pep Guardiola’s team isn’t focused on Liverpool or the Premier League title race for now.
However, the Belgian hasn’t completely ruled out the reigning champions making a dramatic comeback.
Currently sitting fourth in the league, City trail Liverpool by 12 points, with the Reds holding a game in hand.
After thrashing Ipswich Town 6-0, City are now unbeaten in five league matches, a much-needed turnaround following a dismal run between late October and Boxing Day, where they won just once and lost nine of 13 games in all competitions.
This season, City has already lost six Premier League matches and drawn five, dropping a total of 28 points. To compare, they dropped just 33 points during the entire 2019/20 campaign when finishing second to Liverpool.
With a maximum of 86 points still possible, City would need near-perfection and a major collapse from Liverpool to have any hope of reclaiming the title.
Speaking after the Ipswich win, De Bruyne acknowledged City’s position: *“I don’t think we need to look at Liverpool for the moment.
We just need to do a better job, get more wins, and focus on our big game in Paris. We know we’ve dropped too many points, and the goal is to win as many games as possible.”*
City’s margin for error is slim, and their fight to stay in contention looks like an uphill battle.
