4 weeks ago
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Mikel Arteta will be looking over his shoulder as Pep Guardiola mounts a last-ditch bid for the Premier League title
Bernardo Silva has warned Arsenal that Manchester City will 'fight until the end'. The 31-year-old midfielder led Pep Guardiola's side to victory at Anfield on Sunday evening, keeping the Premier League title race alive.
Silva equalised for the visitors shortly after Dominik Szoboszlai beat Gianluigi Donnarumma from range with a spectacular free-kick. Erling Haaland put Manchester City ahead midway through stoppage time, beating Alisson from the spot.
The Gunners remain just six points clear at the top of the table ahead of Thursday night's clash against Brentford at the G-Tech Community Stadium. Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Silva revealed that he and his teammates believed they needed to beat Liverpool to still have a chance of winning the Premier League.
"I feel the whole team knew before the game if we lost it then the title race was probably over," said the Portugal international. "We felt like we needed to win.
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"The hope is there, and we are going to fight until the end. We need to keep doing our job that we haven't lately. For the distance that we have to Arsenal, coming here it is the toughest place in the Premier League by far, but we needed to go for another goal."
Silva added: "When I scored, I was happy, but we needed another, and Erling got it. Very happy, but these points count as much as any in any other game.
"It has been frustrating the beginning of the year because we have not done our job properly. We could be closer to Arsenal."
Guardiola showered Silva with praise in an interview with club media. The Spaniard said: "At the end, we were guided by our incredible player, one of the best ever to play or train - our captain Bernardo.
"We follow him, I follow him too. He puts the team in front of himself. He does things through his own example. Everybody follows him, me the first.
"He scored the first one from the Erling assist, and made the assist for Matheus for the penalty. We won finally at Anfield. Always it’s so difficult. I’m happy with the result for the guys because we were there.
"From the beginning I said I know Liverpool always start strong and we have to start stronger. If we get the first punch, we have more chance to win the game."
Unlike Silva, Guardiola believed Manchester City still would've had a shot at the title even if they lost to Liverpool. He added: "I don’t buy that the title race is over if City didn’t win today.
"Because we won it’s fine but it’s the same team. The first half at Spurs we were magnificent and could have been 0-3 or 0-4 but at the end we draw. At Newcastle we were much better than Spurs.
"Today we didn’t do it, but we were much, much better. I have the feeling if we do a little bit it will not be enough to compete against Arsenal but still it is a small margin. We have them at home although of course we have to beat them.
"13 games in the Premier League from my experience is a lot of time. When you go to the last games playing a team in a relegation battle it’s a proper football game.
"They live for survival and they give their lives and have long weeks to prepare. We come from the FA Cup and Carabao Cup and the Champions League. It makes a big influence.
"Liverpool was all week preparing that game. We played three days ago against Newcastle. Newcastle, what happened? Played on Wednesday and travel, arriving at 02:00, Saturday v Brentford and they have all week to prepare that game.
"That has an influence. All we can do is be brave. Breathe on the neck of Arsenal. If they slip or make something, use it."
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